Posted on 05/22/2009 11:32:07 AM PDT by freespirited
Two lawmakers of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party appealed Thursday to let Uighurs locked up at Guantanamo Bay move to the United States, saying they were victims of injustice.
The plea came despite an overwhelming Senate vote a day earlier to block money to transfer inmates out of the deeply controversial "war on terror" prison in Cuba, which Obama on Thursday vowed again to shut down.
US authorities four years ago cleared 17 imprisoned Uighurs -- members of a largely Muslim group in northwestern China who the State Department says face worsening persecution by Beijing.
But they are stuck at Guantanamo Bay due to fears that Beijing would torture them if they return. The United States has asked Germany, home to a large Uighur community, to take them in.
"We cannot expect the world to miraculously resolve this problem of our own making," Congressman Jim McGovern said.
"It is not enough, quite frankly, to ask that they be placed in Germany or in some other European country. I believe that we have an obligation to resettle at least some of the Uighurs here in the United States."
He and other lawmakers were addressing a world assembly of Uighurs, including dissident leader Rebiya Kadeer, who were meeting at the US Capitol in a bid to showcase their international support.
"Despite all of our words and our resolutions, we have let you down and we have put America's judicial system and our moral standing in the world at risk," said Bill Delahunt, like McGovern a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts.
"The Uighur people are not enemies of America. In fact, I know you admire our fundamental ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," he said.
But the Senate on Wednesday cut off money to transfer the Guantanamo detainees, with Democrats joining Republicans in fearing public reaction to moving them into communities.
Nury Turkel, an attorney working on the detainees' legal team, denounced the Senate vote.
"What it did was effectively to try to build an American gulag in Guantanamo even though the Uighur men have already been cleared," he said. "President Obama needs to show leadership to free them."
Listen you RAT moron. Anyone who trained in an Al Qaeda camp is an enemy of America.
But we can talk about letting these guys crash in your basements.
The article pretends that these guys were just innocent bystanders when we just happened to come along and take them prisoner.
They were presumably fighting against us on the battlefield. Why would anyone even consider releasing them into the U.S.?
If these people are admitted, let us make sure they are settled ONLY in the districts of these two disloyal terrorist-coddling members of Congress.
Its only controversial because Democrats have been lying about it for years. Now they own it, and don't know what to do with it. Its hard to do a climb-down in public, with everyone watching, but they are trying. Obama extended it. The Dems in congress nixed closing it. But they can't admit its a good, humane, well-run prison just right off the bat so they'll twist and squirm until they've got the new narrative figured out.
If these people are admitted, let us make sure they are settled ONLY in the districts of these two disloyal terrorist-coddling members of Congress.
Jim McGovern (D-Idiocy),,,what a MAROON! Let these MUSLIMS live NEXT DOOR to JIMMY!
If we really believe that they are no threat, then release them in Afghanistan, which is where we picked them up. They were in Afghanistan, so return them there. Let them decide from there what they want to do and where they want to go.
I will say that the Uighars are a special problem, and prior to all our troubles with the jihadists I would have sided with them against the Chinese. But I’m less inclined to do that now. Are the Chinese tough on the jihadists in Turmenistan? Yes. Do I blame them? Not really. Not anymore.
Back to China. Let the Chinese deny them their international human rights.
If I were the ChiComs I’d just tell ObaMao to extradite them or we wouldn’t show up for the next T-Bill auction. Then, I’d sit back and watch the fireworks.
So, he knows the truth and reality he's just pandering to the socialists world-wide.
From what I’ve read, they were picked up at an al-Qaeda training camp. But we’re supposed to buy into this claim that they are not terrorists because their alleged target is China, not us.
I say BS. Anyone who hangs around al Qaeda is by definition a terrorist.
The logical thing to do would be to send them back to China, since they are apparently Chinese nationals. If not there, then to the custody of Afghanistan.
They should be flown to the US without delay and halfway between Cuba and Florida, they should be thrown out of the plane.
I want to know whether or not the guy living next to me is a terrorist. If Obama is going to insist on putting them in my community, then the community needs to know how and where to find them, so that we can do the policing that Obama refuses to do.
Is there a Chinese restaurant near Jimmy? If so, make the Uighars work there; they’ll be begging to go back to Gitmo or even the much-maligned Abu Ghraib. They don’t call them sweatshops for nothing.
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