Gitmo Detainees: What to Do?

As part of President Obama's problems with closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, there is always the issue of what to do with those detainees.

As an example, let's consider the fate of 17 Chinese Uighurs, ordered released in October 2008. There is fierce congressional opposition to settling them in the U.S. We've asked Canada to take them: nope. Australia has twice refused US requests to resettle these detainees, though there are rumors that they might take 10 of them. Lastly, we cannot return them to China for fear that they will tortured or executed (there is a fierce Islamist insurgent/separatist movement in Western China) and Beijing officials may want nothing more than to get their hands on these Uighurs, if only for political leverage against other insurgents in the Uighur areas.

Now we're considering resettling some or all of them on the remote island nation of Palau in the Pacific Ocean. Palau just happens to be one of the few nations that do not recognize China (the mainland) and maintains relations with Taiwan, so as a political entity, they have little to fear from the Chinese government's displeasure at not getting the Uighurs back.

Obviously, Palau would receive a lot of aid for doing this (a figure of $200m is being mentioned).

Let's go back to their detainment: these were not terrorists, not "unlawful enemy combatants." They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. They have been held for years without any of the rights that the worst criminals in the United States are guaranteed. Is there a danger that these Uighurs, might turn into terrorists? Sure, see my post below ("We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto"). And who could blame them?

But settling them here in the United States is the right thing to do.

UPDATE, June 10, 2009: The government of Palau has agreed to "temporarily resettle" these 17 individuals "subject to periodic review."