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US Offers $200M to Send Gitmo Inmates to South Pacific
By Harry Kimball
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Posted Jun 9, 09 2:50 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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The US wants to resettle Uighur detainees held at Guantanamo Bay on the Pacific island nation of Palau, the AP reports. Palau, whose eight main islands lie 500 miles east of the Philippines, has strong ties to the US and depends on it for aid and protection. Daniel Fried, the envoy appointed by the Obama administration to administer the closing of Guantanamo, visited the country recently.
“We have spoken with the Palauans, but neither they nor we have made any decisions,” a US official said. Others said the US has offered $200 million in development funds to Palau in exchange for taking the Chinese Muslim detainees. The US will not give them back to China for fear that they will be held and tortured as terrorists.