Thursday, September 17, 2015

It only takes 6 years


So he was picked up in Afghanistan, never charged with anything and cleared for release in 2009. He was finally sent home this week.
The Obama administration sent home a long-cleared Moroccan captive from Guantánamo Bay on Wednesday, a rare release from the U.S. military prison in Cuba at a time when Congress is considering expanding restrictions on such transfers.

Younis Chekkouri, 47, was taken to Guantánamo 13 years ago as a suspected militant from the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group in Afghanistan. He was approved for release in 2009 and never charged with a crime.

U.S. forces delivered Detainee 197, as Chekkouri was called, to the North African nation on Wednesday, but didn’t announce it until Thursday after his London-based legal firm, Reprieve, issued a statement of concern about his welfare. Reprieve said it was unaware of Chekkouri’s exact whereabouts but believed he had not seen a local lawyer “in apparent violation of Moroccan law.”

At the Pentagon, Navy Cmdr. Gary Ross expressed gratitude on behalf of the United States to Morocco “for its willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.”

“The United States coordinated with the government of Morocco to ensure this transfer took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures,” Ross said in a statement.

It was the first release since the U.S. sent six Yemenis to Oman in June, demonstrating Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s go-slow approach to transfers while the administration scouts U.S. sites that could hold Guantánamo captives for indefinite detention and war crimes court trials.
Nobody has ever accused any government of moving quickly, but this is ridiculous. And whatever other qualities Defense Secretary Ass Carter may have, his go-slow policy is an embarassment and PBO needs to end it now.

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