a billion steps back...
In an effort to rectify "mistakes" (if that word can be considered strong enough) of the past administration, the decision was made to close Guantanamo and release and/or try detainees for their crimes in courts of law. A significant challenge in translating this policy into reality has been the task of finding countries willing to accept (or in some cases re-accept) detainees into their sovereign boundaries. I mean, even Canada said "No." This is particularly true regarding the 17 Uighur detainees. Not because China wasn't ready to take them back, but because according to these men, life in China would be worse than Gitmo, and probably shorter-lived.
Last week, 4 of the 17 Uighur detainees were relocated to Bermuda. In the midst of the goodwill this created for the U.S. abroad and at home, Representative Steve King managed to destroy it all that last week with a flippant reference to the former detainees "wasting away again in marga-uighur-ville." It might've been funny if it wasn't so crass. May I kindly suggest that representatives of the U.S. government spend more time examining human rights issues instead of begrudging their vacation spots. Bad form.
2 comments:
Or trying to make really lame puns.
"Marga-uighur-ville" isn't even funny.
Thank you for this post. I have been waiting a long weekend for anyone to say that jokes at the expense of the Gitmo detainees are not what I voted for.
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