Cheat Sheet
The Best In Brief
Palau to Take Uighur Detainees
Perhaps the U.S. government is thinking out of sight, out of mind? The tiny Pacific island nation of Palau—population 20,000—has agreed to resettle up to 17 Uighur detainees from Guantanamo Bay. The Chinese Muslims have been stuck at Gitmo, despite the fact that the Pentagon has said they are not “enemy combatants.” Palau said that it will accept them “as a humanitarian gesture” toward, as President Johnson Toribong put it, “our best friend and ally.” According to the Associated Press, “The U.S. was prepared to give Palau up to $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance in return for accepting the Uighurs and as part of a mutual defense and cooperation treaty that is due to be renegotiated this year.”
AiriqS
Let's see,
$200,000,000 in assistance divided by 17 Uighur detainees =
$11.8 million per detainee. JACKPOT!!!!
Only in Washington
squiggy
This math is as insane as the cost for "creating" jobs! No wonder Montana wanted them!
AiriqS
Or try this one,
$200,000,000 in assistance for 20,000 native Palauans =
$10,000 per citizen courtesy of the US taxpayer. Of course President Johnson Toribong is asking, "DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE??"
Only in Washington
artois
China has a different calculator - Cost of 17 bullets - $2.04 - which incidentally will get billed back to the families costing the taxpayers nothing !
mskitee
Other countries should cooperate without a penny being offered. It seems our government can't make an agreement with any country in the world without corrupting it with money (that we don't have) being put on the table.
hardrain
That's funny!
Why SHOULDN'T other nations ask for cash? Should they take people that we are too afraid/crazed or weirded out by, for karma points? Palau is taking responsibility for OUR mistake.
Ritarita
Above comment
Is too humorous even for a response.
So I'll ask a question.
Why the hell are we holding
17 Uighers indefinitely?
And what did that cost U.S. taxpayers?
They were in Pakistan training
As insurgents to fight
The Chinese government.
Did Cheney have empty dog kennels
That needed filling?
Progressive2
Conservatives stupidity amaze me.
If you're so afraid of these prisoners coming to our jail.
Why the hell would you complain about the "cost" when we find a different place to put them?
Freaking cowards.
Twisted
These people never deserved to be arrested or jailed for any reason US courts had ordered them to be released over a year ago. They were scooped up under the rumsfeld "bounty" for foreign fighters program in witch our government was defrauded by afghan iraqi and pakistani warlords for information about foreign fighters(al-quaeda) but usually paied for refugees who we have now paied to warehouse for years in maximum security. This is the perfect example of why interdicted individuals deserve court hearings before detention. I'm still suprised that our government did not just send them to some town in the midwest to work in an agri business meat poultry or food factory.
Carole65
I agree with you - they should be put in our jails. Just want to see them in the general population.
DreddBlog
We have been making messes and dumping it in the Pacific for generations. Now we have a new twist on that theme.
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2009/03/garbage-garbage-garbage.html
Centrist
Holy crap! For $200 million I'll keep them in a cage in my back yard.
The story didn't mention in what circumstances the detainees were to be kept on Palau - a South Pacific paradise.
artois
i'll keep them in a 5th Ave. penthouse...
AiriqS
http://www.visit-palau.com/
democracyforall
This is totally absurd and stupid. These 17 detainees will find a boat, sent to them by their good friend bin Laden, and be back in business shortly. As a taxpayer, I'm OUTRAGED!!!!
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.