After reading about the 4 Uighurs from China who have been at the Guantanamo detention center for the last 7 years, I was left confused.
Here are some of the questions that I could not answer to save my life:
Why did the world’s most powerful government with nearly limitless resources only determine after SEVEN years that these four men were not a threat to the U.S. and innocent of any crime?
If we (the U.S.) put them in detention, why were we now trying to pawn them off on every other country but our own?
In the interest and spirit of "transparency", why are secret deals being brokered with tiny island governments to take in these former prisoners?
Why not make public our efforts to give these people a normal life again?
Doesn't the world need to see that we are capable of owning up to our mistakes and making things right?
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All I've heard about the closing of these types of detention centers is that we are closing them because they are wrong and a symbol of poor U.S. foreign policy and oppression. Now we are trying to piece their lives together secretly. Don't say it's for their safety. If that were the case we'd never know where they went. If the U.S. is footing the bill for their resettlement, I'd like to know the details. I'd like to know how my taxes are being spent for this. Don't get me wrong, I feel badly for those poor souls who have spent seven years locked away and labeled terrorists only to have the U.S. basically say "just kidding". We'd pay restitution for someone cleared by DNA evidence and released from prison after being wrongly convicted. I think it’s fair to help them. I believe it’s our responsibility.
I, for one, do not understand why we are placing them on tiny islands and not here in the U.S... If they are cleared of wrong-doing then what is the problem? In this country's vast Muslim population they could probably find some true anonymity. I don't see how they will ever have that being on an island with 500+ Muslims out of about 68,000 people.
This whole scenario leaves me with more questions than answers. I'd like real transparency. I want to know how we are making things right for these four and the others who have been cleared as well.
If these four people can be plucked from their countries, held without trials or charges, labeled enemy combatants or terrorists, then dropped on a remote island somewhere to fade into history; the same could happen to us.
Think about it for a minute...
Is that really so far fetched?
While the following quote was originally a reference to the sexes being treated equally, I think it has a deeper relevance for all…
“What's good for the goose is good for the gander”
Stay Free!
