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10 EU Countries, Others, in Deals to Take Gitmo Detainees

White House upbeat on 80 cleared for release

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 20, 2009 8:40 AM CDT

(Newser) – The White House, in talks ranging from Australia to Georgia, is making progress on its attempts to resettle Guantanamo Bay detainees, the Washington Post reports. Ten EU countries have agreed to take detainees; the US is negotiating with Saudi Arabia to accept Guantanamo's 98 Yemenis; and 11 detainees, including four Chinese Uighurs taken by Bermuda, have already been released abroad.

Negotiators credit their success to President Obama's political capital abroad, which has trumped expected resistance to taking detainees. Upcoming talks will target countries in South America, the Persian Gulf, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe; one post-Soviet state, Georgia, joked that it will take every Guantanamo detainee if the US builds a military base on its soil to guard against neighboring Russia.



In this photo May 14, 2009 file photo, Guantanamo detainees pray before dawn near a fence of razor-wire inside the exercise yard at Camp 4 detention facility, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In this photo May 14, 2009 file photo, Guantanamo detainees pray before dawn near a fence of razor-wire inside the exercise yard at Camp 4 detention facility, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
Palau President Johnson Toribiong speaks during an interview at a beach in Ngerkebesang, Palau, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Palau has agreed to take 13 Guantanamo detainees.
Palau President Johnson Toribiong speaks during an interview at a beach in Ngerkebesang, Palau, Saturday, June 13, 2009. Palau has agreed to take 13 Guantanamo detainees.   (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
In this June 12, 2009 file photo, the four Guantanamo Bay detainees, ethnic Uighurs from China, are welcomed upon their arrival in Hamilton, Bermuda, June 11, 2009.
In this June 12, 2009 file photo, the four Guantanamo Bay detainees, ethnic Uighurs from China, are welcomed upon their arrival in Hamilton, Bermuda, June 11, 2009.   (AP Photo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
justme
Aug 20, 2009 11:33 AM CDT
Imagine what you can accomplish when you pay millions of dollars per detainee.
odowd80
Aug 20, 2009 3:09 AM CDT
Wow, its amazing what you can accomplish when you have the respect of international leaders.

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