The Cruelty of Releasing Guantanamo Prisoners

After writing daily news stories about the unfair holding of terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, some in the media are now saying the opposite: that it would be unjust to release the prisoners to their home countries. The Guardian, one of the leading U.S. critics, now refers to the planned release of Gitmo prisoners a "jail switch," some type of underhanded attempt to make prisoners face potential charges in their own countries. Somehow the extradition of these prisoners is promoting torture because other countries might have more severe laws towards terrorists than the U.S. The Guardian states,

Officials said reviews by the State Department and other government agencies would help ensure that the prisoners would not be tortured.

Despite such measures, the prospect of a wholesale transfer of prisoners from Guantánamo to America's allies is bound to be controversial, especially as many of the inmates face a return to countries known to practice torture. More than 300 of the prisoners at Guantánamo are from Afghanistan, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, none of which has a good human rights record.

So let me get this straight: prisoners should be released, but only when they will be cleared of any punishment in their own countries? You can't make this stuff up.