At a time when we should be stacking these 7th century throwbacks up like cord wood or tossing them into the clink ”till hostilities are over” (however long that takes), maroons in public office are trying to release them back into society.
NOTE: You only have to look at the overwhelmingly high number of those released, who went back to the jihad, as reason enough to keep these varmints behind closed bars as long as possible.
Now top US official ‘says he wants to release’ last Briton left in Guantanamo: Defence secretary is ‘prioritising’ case
‘Yes you can’: The campaign to release Mr Aamer, who has legal residence in Britain, in London last December
- US defence secretary Ashton Carter ‘inclined’ to release father-of-four
- Shaker Aamer has been in camp without trial for more than 13 years
- Supporters cautiously optimistic and insist on his immediate release
- He has been twice cleared for release from notorious prison in Cuba
Captive: Shaker Aamer has allegedly been tortured
Hopes were raised last night that Shaker Aamer could be released from Guantanamo Bay after a senior US government official said he was treating the case as ‘a priority’.
Defence secretary Ashton Carter is said to be ‘inclined’ to release the father-of-four, who has languished in the controversial camp without trial for more than 13 years.
Supporters of the last British detainee greeted the words with cautious optimism, and insisted he should be released immediately.
Mr Aamer, whose wife and children live in Battersea, south London, has been twice cleared for release from the notorious military prison in Cuba – by George W Bush in 2007 and Barack Obama in 2009.
But despite pressure from British ministers, he remains behind bars. Only last week, the US Justice Department denied independent doctors access to his cell.
It also described the 48-year-old as an ‘enemy combatant’ in an apparent hardening of rhetoric.
This week, the Washington Post reported that the Department of Defense – which is ultimately responsible for handling the release of prisoners – had discussed the case.
It reported a meeting last month in which Mr Carter, who was appointed only six months ago, indicated he was ‘inclined’ to release Mr Aamer, who has legal residence in Britain.
Yesterday the Department of Defense said it had made the case a ‘priority’ in a significant shift of tone. The language echoes that used by President Obama in January after talks with David Cameron.
A spokesman for the defence department also referred to the UK as ‘our British allies’ in a further indication of an apparent willingness to push ahead with the case.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, the spokesman said: ‘I do not have a timeline on when particular detainees will be transferred from Guantanamo.
