Internal email reveals DOD delayed releasing men from Guantánamo in order to avoid bad press

[sabra]

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/02/12/1792698.aspx

<snip>

But perhaps most notably is an internal e-mail from Feb. 17, 2006, relating to Guantanamo detainees scheduled for release. It recommends to “hold off on return flights for 45 days or so until things die down. Otherwise we are likely to have heroes welcomes awaiting the detainees when they arrive.”

The e-mail also recommends using a smaller, more discrete plane to transport the detainees.

“It is astonishing that the government may have delayed releasing men from Guantánamo in order to avoid bad press,” said Center for Constitutional Rights attorney Gitanjali Gutierrez, who represents many of the men held in Guantánamo and has made 30 trips to the base since 2004. “Proposing to hold men for a month and a half after they were deemed releasable is inexcusable. The Obama administration should avoid repeating this injustice and release the innocent individuals with all due haste.”

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[ThomWV]

2. K&R and look forward to hearing this repeated on the news tonight.

[CJCRANE]

3. Why is this a surprise?

Nearly everything the neocons did was about the timing of events and information for maximum benefit or minimum damage.

[FiveGoodMen]

4. Let's not forget that we have a Supreme Court Justice that thinks we can execute the innocent

if they've been (wrongly) convicted.

So this should surprise no one.