Reality Bites

It's funny - when I posted on this subject last week, I was accused of engaging in "fear-mongering" by Richard in the comments. However, if my commenting on the subject is fear mongering, as Richard suggests, what do you suppose he will say about about the Euro's who ALSO don't want the detainees released in THEIR cities!

President Obama's plan to close Guantánamo Bay within a year appeared to be unravelling yesterday with the emergence of former inmates on terrorist websites, fierce opposition in the US and a lukewarm response to taking detainees from the European Union.

After signing an executive order last week to close the US military prison, Mr Obama has been confronted with myriad obstacles that are making his ambitious pledge look unrealistic.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, ruled out the prospect of Britain taking any more inmates, claiming that it had already made a significant contribution.

His announcement, at a meeting of EU foreign ministers, came as Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that it had rearrested nine Islamist militants, including former Guantánamo inmates released to the Kingdom who had undergone a re-education programme in Riyadh.

So is the Times Of London engaging in "fear-mongering" when they report on the recidivism rate of the Gitmo detainees?

Britian and Saudi Arabia are not the only ones reluctant to take the Gitmo detainees.

PARIS: Europe reacted cautiously yesterday to the idea of resettling terror suspects released from Guantanamo Bay, with some countries seeking a concerted European approach and others already opposed to the idea.

The Netherlands went furthest, ruling out accepting any newly freed inmates, despite broad European support for US president elect Barack Obama’s promise to shut down the notorious military detention centre.

“If they are not to be tried but cannot return to their own countries, it is first and foremost the responsibility of the country which arrested and imprisoned them, the United States,” a Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said.

“The Netherlands will not take in Guantanamo inmates.”

So let me see if I have this right - their home countries don't want them because they are too dangerous, Europe doesn't want them for the same reason, but they want US to release them into our population. Good to know.

Contrary to Richard's beliefs, this is reporting on news - not fear-mongering. There are things in the world that we should be cautious of. For me, the first and most important one is people who promise to kill our children. When someone says that there are no "innocent bystanders" not even children, well then I want to keep those people as far away from the children in my community as possible.

Richard - if these people are so beneign, then I'm sure you will be more than willing to have one or two of them housed with you and your family...right?????