Pentagon has announced that it will repatriate guantanamo prisoners to their homelands in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russian, France, Saudi Arabia and other European and Asian countries. In this regard, the US has signed an agreement with Afghanistan according to which Afghan prisoners would be taken back to their country in a planned process.
The US treats all terrorist groups and prisoners in the same manner. For instance, after the US invasion on Iraq, the US took the control of the MKO which has been listed as a terrorist organization since 1997. The US disarmed the group and restricted its members into Camp Ashraf near Baghdad. But the responsibility for standing against this terrorist group was left for Iraqi new government, Iran and the Red Cross. If we look carefully at other terrorist groups, we’d be assured that the US has treated them in a similar way. The US authorities try to encourage European countries to participate actively in the field of fighting terrorism.
Some of human rights activists have expressed concerns over the repatriation of terrorists and prisoners to their own nations and believe that their governments violate prisoners’ rights but it should be noted that the Red Cross is responsible for fate of these people after they’re repatriated.
Terrorist attacks around the world have created international unity in the field of fighting terrorism and have forced the nations to cooperate and exchange intelligence and information. The threat is serious so that the US has even asked its old enemy, Iran, for help and active presence on the issue. In addition, US forces have interrogated the members of terrorist MKO and have paved the way for repentant terrorists to return to their country. To date, more than 350 former members of MKO have returned to Iran.
This unprecedented positive step and stance from the US indicates that the US needs the cooperation of all other countries in the war against terrorism.
Al-Asadi