38 GTMO prisoners not 'enemy combatants'

[Robbien]

Washington, DC, Mar. 29 (UPI) -- Thirty-eight of 558 prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base are not "enemy combatants" and will go free, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.

Five of the 38 have already been released. The U.S. State Department is negotiating the return of 33 more prisoners with their home governments, said Navy Secretary Gordon England at a Pentagon press conference.

Although they were judged not to be "enemy combatants" does not mean their initial detention was wrong, as additional information might have come to light after their capture, England said. The prisoners are not being offered compensation for their time at the jail, England said.

<snip>

Those who were determined not to be -- or no longer to be -- enemy combatants were generally found so because of "thin files," England said. While some information suggested they were being held appropriately as a threat to the United States or to U.S. forces overseas, there was not enough corroborating evidence to sustain the claim.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050329-060048-6884r.htm

[bpilgrim]

1. 'enemy combatants' or ILLEGAL combatants

if they are regular 'enemy combatants' then there is no debate whether the Geneva applies - even though the debate also shows that even the so called 'ILLEGAL' combatants are covered as well

i wish they'd get their story straight :argh:

peace

[Selteri]

2. Hey! We grabbed you, took you from homer and tortured you to try to

get information, but hey! You're not an enemy combatant, but we still had a good reasoon to do it, now aren't you happy to go free? :sarcasm: