The good news is the growing awareness and concern. The bad news is weasel words from the Attorney General, based on the definition of the word "terrorist." [Holder: Terrorists won't be set free in U.S., or abroad, Miami Herald, May 7, 2009]
"We don't have any plans to release terrorists," Holder testified at a Senate hearing on the administration's budget for the Justice Department.But he also said some of the detainees at the Guant??namo Bay, Cuba, facility will be let go as the administration believes some held there are not terrorists.
From all accounts, the Uighurs had not blown up anyone at the time of their apprehension, so to the lawyer mind, they are not really terrorists, in the same way that an FBI trainee at Quantico is not yet a fully qualified agent with a badge.
The Uighurs are more like Terrorist Cadets.
But wait, that category is prohibited also...
Republicans critical of Obama's plan claim Guant??namo detainees cannot legally be brought to the United States because federal law bars entry to anyone who has received terrorist training.Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., pressed Holder to say whether he believed he had the authority to release someone with terrorist training into the United States. The attorney general did not directly answer Shelby's question, but said the government doesn't have any plans to release terrorists.
Uh-oh, the old "no plans" dodge.
But at least now the administration is on notice that they are being watched on this issue. However the Obama acolytes may well believe they can convince their base that the Uighurs are merely misunderstood ethnic activists.
And when national security depends on lawyer definitions of what "terrorist" means, we live in far more dangerous times.