Guantánamo detainees: Not in Europe’s backyard
The complications Europeans discovered discussing a proposal to take Guantánamo detainees off President Obama's hands
So much for a new era of cooperation with the U.S., said Celia Marques Azevedo in Portugal’s Jornal de Noticias. EU foreign ministers met this week to discuss a Portuguese proposal that Europe show its goodwill toward President Obama by taking some of the Guantánamo detainees off his hands. Apparently, goodwill isn’t enough. The ministers quickly realized there are “complex legal and security problems” involved in giving asylum even to just the 60 detainees that the U.S. has declared non-threatening but who can’t return to their home countries because they risk torture or even death. They agreed only to continue to work on finding a solution.
But why should we? asked Jochim Stoltenberg in Germany’s Berliner Morgenpost. The U.S. is the one that “made a hypocrisy of Western values through its human-rights violations.” The principle of “you broke it, you fix it” should apply here. If the 60 detainees declared innocent “are really no threat, then there’s nothing to stop America from accepting them.” If they are dangerous, why should Europeans risk their own safety to clean up America’s mess?
Because to do otherwise is to display “moral cowardice,” said Britain’s Daily Telegraph in an editorial. As German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, “It’s a question of credibility.” Europeans clamored for the closure of the illegal detention center at Guantánamo Bay, so Europeans are morally obligated to help the U.S. achieve that end. Unfortunately, we are shirking our duty. Portugal and France have said they’ll consider taking prisoners on a case-by-case basis. Britain, though, says it already has taken in the 13 British detainees and is willing to take only two others who were previously residents here. Other countries, such as Spain, say they’re still on the fence.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This isn’t just a cop-out, said Spain’s ABC. The legal complexities are daunting. The detainees who are purportedly innocent would still have to be watched carefully upon their release. But most of the EU countries no longer have passport controls on their common borders, so a detainee released into one country could easily evade surveillance. Those detainees who are not so innocent pose an even thornier set of problems—if there is insufficient evidence to try them, yet they can’t be released, they would have to be kept in prison. But Spain and other European countries can’t imprison people “without a criminal complaint from our courts.” There is no legal framework here that would allow forced internment or even supervised probation of these people. And Europe is not prepared to create its own “softer version of Guántanamo.” For now, at least, the detainees remain America’s problem.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138M
Speed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published