The government has finally grasped the nettle of those poor Uighers caught up in the GWOT net and sent to a tropical island for detention by sending them to Palau, a tropical island chain.
The United States has won an agreement to transfer up to 17 Chinese Muslims from the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Palau, a sparsely populated archipelago in the North Pacific, according to a statement released by Palau to The Associated Press on Wednesday…
Palau is known more for its tropical scenery and scuba diving than for its involvement in international politics. But despite its tiny size, it is diverse, with Philippine and Chinese populations. The Uighurs, some say, could do a lot worse for themselves.
Actually, speaking from personal knowledge, GTMO has some pretty find scuba diving too. But I suppose the island chain, with its 174 square miles of territory and a population of some 20,000 souls – diverse souls, mind – will be considered an upgrade.
So I’m glad we got that sorted out.
Update: China reacts.
China has demanded the return of 17 Chinese Muslim Uighur detainees held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay.
America should “stop handing over terrorist suspects to any third country,” foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.
Palau, a former US Pacific territory which does not recognise China, has agreed to accept the ethnic Uighurs.
Well … don’t feel too warm and fuzzy. I read yesterday that in fact, Palau will receive from the U.S.:
up to $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance in return for accepting the Uighurs
That works out to be about $12 million per Uighur. Not a bad deal all around, is it.
I’m sure that won’t go unnoticed by governments around the planet….paying to have them play.
After all, look what pro athletes make…:)
China would take them in for free…
Actually, why don’t we sell them to China for some of our debt that China holds?
200 million in bribes for 17 guys. I’m not irked by that at all…
Heh, in the early 1980’s the State Dept. inquired into resettling Kurdish refugees on *Adak* in the Aleutians. We could just envision those poor bastards driving their herds of goats and sheep off the ramp of a C-130 or C-141 into typical Aleutian weather (wind, rain, wind, snow, fog, then more wind and rain) and declaring eternal jihad upon us.
Hey, wait a minute. I’ll take a couple @$12m each. I’m sure they would like it here in central Maine and I’ve got goats, to boot. Those pesky uighers can bunk with the herd and they can have all the browse and grain they can eat.
Hey, some of my favorite Navy liberty was in GTMO. Reftra was a grueling pain in the @$$, but weekend libs were great. Super scuba diving, great fishing, and miles of practically deserted smooth roads for biking. We ran busses from the fleet landing to the beach for the crew, and ran a continuous beach cookout for their dining pleasure. The golf kinda sucked, though.
The course only had grass on the tee boxes and the greens. The rest was sandy, rocky, cactus covered desert. They gave you an astroturf door mat that you carried around the course. You find your ball, pick it up, and place the doormat underneath for your approach shots.
I once caught so many fish on a 4 hour beachguard watch at the fleet landing, that I fed the entire wardroom and CPO mess with fried fish the next night. (Only fishing when the liberty boat was making a run out to the ship, of course)
Well, the good news, it’s a long swim across really treacherous reefs to get anywhere…
OT: All good mariners need be mournful in these times…
In 69 and 70 I flew a weekly log flight out of NAS Agana to Yap and on down to Anguar in the Palaus with an occasional RON on Babelthaup. That’s where Lee Marvin filmed “Hell In The Pacific”. Actually had a beer with him in a local bar. He kept a charter boat there and invited the crew to go out on his boat fishing at no charge. It was a great time.
The rock islands are very scenic and have something that could be a positive in this scenario……salt water crocodiles. I’ve seen them swimming out at sea. Might make any potential escape more sporting.
Damn, oldskydog, your “Salties” are giving my Kodiak Bears (Kodiak Island-MY choice to “resettle” the Gitmo crowd) a run for their money–thought all of ‘em hung out in N. coastal Aus……
Virgil,
Nah, I couldn’t do that to the nice folks and Coastie shipmates on Kodiak (I spent 2 long years there in 76-78). There are plenty of nice, uninhabited islands nearby and points west out the Aleutians that might suffice and the bears are only slightly smaller but much hungrier. Parachute insertion comes to mind. Might make a great reality TV show.
oldskydog/
LOL! Sorry, but I beat you to the reality show bit using the Kodiaks several months ago on this subj–you must have missed my comments that day–great minds think alike and all that..
BTW, just what the H were you doing on Kodiak? And in what capacity? CG AirSeaRescue? Or USN? Must have been a verrry interesting time–even if cold, wet, and isolated. (Did I leave out miserable? Or did you have an ample supply of Kickapoo Joy Juice laid in?)
Virg,
Kodiak was my penalty tour for the 3+ years of vacation (or so my detailer thought) while serving with the Navy in the training command as an instructor in T-28’s. I had to accept orders to Kodiak to get out of the Nav. and back to the CG. They threatened to leave me there if I didn’t.
I was flying the Super Whisper Herk (HC-130H) on SAR, Fishpat,Law Enforcement, Logistics, etc. Many,many 8 hour patrols in the Bering and Aleutians trying to keep the wiley, elusive NORKs and other commies from poaching our precious fish. Somehow, I had trouble getting properly motivated to risk my life in the great fish wars. Go figure.