Detainees may be transferred

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

The U.S. is quietly negotiating to transfer some prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, back to their home countries for trial, The Boston Globe reported this week. The 660 Taliban and al Qaida suspects at Guantanamo have been held for nearly two years without being formally charged. The Bush administration is under mounting pressure to process their cases. Pentagon officials say they have “clear-cut, compelling evidence” against some detainees, and will prosecute them before military tribunals. The majority never posed a terrorist threat, a Saudi Embassy spokesman said. “Most of them volunteered with the Taliban,” he said, “but they did not do anything beyond that.”