No. I would prefer a system where kidnapping and torture were outlawed for all states, especially those claiming to support the rule of law.
The people left in Guantanamo are either identified members of the upper cadres of Al Qaeda or the Taliban, or innocents or footsoldiers swept up for bounties.
If the US can decide that releasing 5 dangerous senior terrorists to be delayed one year before returning to terrorism is the price of one American life, then surely the foot soldiers and innocents should be freed immediately.
The 5 men freed to save one American GI will next year be back in the senior structure of the Taliban. If the lesser people were freed, I doubt they would do as much potential damage as that that WILL occur from the release of these men.
The legality of Guantanamo is not based on where it is. It’s based on who the prisoners are. The US detained thousands of German captives on US soil for years during WWII.
These are not people who have been arrested for a crime. You can put people on trial for that. You can’t put an enemy soldier on trial for being an enemy soldier - that is against the Geneva Convention and the rule of law that you care so much about when you can twist in such a way that America = Bad.
What you can do, 100% legally, under the laws of the US and the Geneva Convention, is detain them indefinitely or until the end of hostilities, whichever comes first, and then release them to their homeland.
Why not start your own thread rather than spamming this one with irrelevancies?
Go and start one and leave this to discuss the moral hypocrisy of releasing terrorists for political gain.
As to your suggestion- when you have opened your own thread, perhaps you will answer whether ion withdrawal from Afghanistan next year, all Taliban must be released. But please do not continue your spam here.
I have been supporting the release of Aamer for a long time. I think all low value or accidental kidnapees should be freed without question.
I have no problem with the US doing a hostage exchange (as Guantanamo kidnappees are essentially hostages held beyond the Law- that is an internal matter.)
What I do have a problem with is valuing an American Life at the release of Five High Value Hostages, yet valuing a British Life at less than one definite combattent at a low level.
I have just seen the US coverage of the release and was incredibly offended (though not amazed) at the self excusing complaints about the prisoner being tortured while in captivity while totally ignoring the fact that behind the news blackout nearly 100 Guantanamo detainees are being tortured everyday. I don’t think that after water boarding (now apparently banned, and forced feeding to quell dissent, that the US administration has any standing to complain about another enemy troturing an American.
Again; what has the US been offered in exchange for the release of this Brit (who I notice you haven’t yet mentioned isn’t actually a “Brit” at all, but a Saudi citizen who has UK residence rights by dint of having married a British citizen)?