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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Palau Is Taking Gitmo Detainees. So What's Palau?

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(Newser) – When the island nation of Palau agreed to help President Obama close Gitmo by taking in 13 detainees, few Americans had heard of the tiny country. But the US and Palau share a close bond, NPR reports. “It’s a small island nation, but its status as a sovereign nation depends on the United States," says Palau’s president, who describes their relationship as "symbiotic."

The two countries are bound by a “compact of free association” that gives Palau's 20,000 citizens access to American jobs and education. In exchange, Palau allows the US to build military bases. Attractions like Jellyfish Lake, home to 20 million stingless jellyfish, also make the island a popular tourist destination. “The publicity that Palau has received has been priceless,” says a business owner of the Gitmo agreement.

Palau can probably stop worrying that the expected arrival of 13 Guantanamo detainees might scare off tourists. The diving is just too spectacular.
Palau can probably stop worrying that the expected arrival of 13 Guantanamo detainees might scare off tourists. The diving is just too spectacular.   (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
An unidentified farm hand points over the property Saturday, June 27, 2009, near Ngchesar that is a possible location where 13 Chinese Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay could be relocated to on the tiny Pacific island republic of Palau.
An unidentified farm hand points over the property Saturday, June 27, 2009, near Ngchesar that is a possible location where 13 Chinese Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay could be relocated to on the tiny...   (AP Photo/Jonathan Kaminsky)
A farm hand points over the property near Ngchesar, Palau, where 13 Chinese Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay could be relocated.
A farm hand points over the property near Ngchesar, Palau, where 13 Chinese Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay could be relocated.   (AP Photo/Jonathan Kaminsky)
Palau President Johnson Toribiong talks with a reporter during an interview in Ngerkebesang, Palau. Palau is asking the United States for a 35-year extension on direct aid funding.
Palau President Johnson Toribiong talks with a reporter during an interview in Ngerkebesang, Palau. Palau is asking the United States for a 35-year extension on direct aid funding.   (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)
In this Saturday, June 13, 2009 photo, Palauan citizens eat lunch at Palau Pacific Resort in Ngerkebesang, Palau.
In this Saturday, June 13, 2009 photo, Palauan citizens eat lunch at Palau Pacific Resort in Ngerkebesang, Palau.   (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
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3 comments
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armywife
Jul 12, 09 5:56 PM CDT
they did a Survivor season there too. i remember one of the challenge rewards was a visit to jellyfish lake. Reply
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Observer
Jul 12, 09 6:38 PM CDT
How many hundreds of millions of dollars are we bribing these people to unload thirteen bodies? And which Ambassador gets to administer this windfall? Another billion pissed away into corrupt pockets. Our government is sick and criminal. Reply
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justme
Jul 12, 09 8:20 PM CDT
Beside the bribe (some ten to twenty million) there is the yearly "development assistance" that goes there. On another note, half the Uighurs wanted to stay at Gitmo rather than go there. Says something about how harsh there treatment was at Gitmo. Reply
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