WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States reportedly agreed to return five suspected terrorists to Saudi Arabia from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, last year as part of a secret three-way deal intended to placate important allies in the invasion of Iraq (news – web sites).
Citing unnamed US and British officials, the New York Times reported on its web site that the Saudi government later released five Britons and two others who had been convicted of terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia under the same arrangement.
Officials Detail a Detainee Deal by 3 Countries By Don Van Natta Jr. and Tim Golden
The White House is denying it. The prisoner trade was a propaganda coup for both the Saudi and UK gov’t’s. And while Saudi Arabia agreed to keep the detainees under lock and key, two of whom allegedly attended al Qaeda training camps, they are now giving contradictory statements as to their whereabouts.
In short, if you’re going to wage terror against the United States, you’d best hail from Saudi Arabia, since the Bush administration will not investigate you at all or release you if detained, so their business partners can save face.