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Arabia
Kuwait Amir presses Obama on release of Gitmo detainees
2013-09-15
The Amir of Kuwait, His Highness Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, said on Friday he asked President Barack Obama to speed the process of releasing two countrymen held at the United States military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Sure, no problem, all yours. But if either of them ever kills an American, Amir, we'll take the life of your eldest son. Now then, how's that for a deal?
Obama earlier this year announced a renewed effort to close the facility, a goal he originally set at the beginning of his presidency in 2009, saying its existence has darkened AmericaÂ’s image abroad while costing the United States tens of millions of dollars that could be better spent at home. Congress thus far has thwarted his efforts.

Shaikh Sabah said he discussed the continued detention of the Kuwaiti detainees with Obama during an Oval Office meeting “and asked President Obama to speed up the process of releasing them in line with the president’s commitment of closing down Guantanamo.”

Obama did not mention Guantanamo during remarks by both leaders to the media after the meeting. The civil war in Syria topped the list of discussion points, Obama said, adding that they also talked about peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, Iraq and other regional economic issues.
I'm sure they accomplished a lot, too...
Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said afterwards that Obama reiterated to the Amir his commitment to closing Guantanamo and stressed that the United States shares the goal of seeing the detainees returned to Kuwait. The governments also agreed to have a Kuwaiti delegation travel to Washington and Guantanamo for further discussions on the matter, she said. No dates were given.

“The US is committed to remaining engaged with Kuwait on this issue and to achieving the conditions necessary to facilitate the responsible transfer of these two individuals,” Hayden said.

Kuwait’s two remaining prisoners at Guantanamo — Faez Al Kandari and Fawzi Al Odah — have been accused of belonging to a terrorist group. Kuwait has built a rehabilitation center to reintegrate them into society, but it sits idle.
They don't need rehab, they need tracking devices...
Posted by:Steve White

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