Gitmo, Big O, and Lil’ B. (source and source)
Just as detailed in the now-infamous Wikileaks cable, Slovene PM Borut Pahor and US President Barack Obama discussed the possibility of Slovenia taking in a Gitmo detainee. The discussion apparently bore fruit as the government is mulling changes to the Aliens Act, expanding the possibilities of allowing temporary settlement of individuals for “political, cultural, economic and other reasons”. Political being the operative word, obviously.
Just as obviously, the possibility of a Gitmo detainee in Slovenia raised hair on the backs of defenders of all things Slovenian. Things like “al-Qaida in Slovenia” were being said with some people practically expecting a pair of 757s being parked into the Twin Towers of Nova Ljubljanska Banka across the street from the parliament and similar bullshit.
That resettlement of a Gitmo detainee is closely connected to the general state of Slovenia- US relations is no secret. At first glance it can be considered as a good-will/kiss-up gesture by Prime Minister Borut Pahor to President Barack Obama. After all, the US manhandled Croatia into signing the Arbitration Agreement with Slovenia and is the one player which decides how much clout Slovenia can have in the Balkans. Not to mention the fact that Slovenia is wooing US investors big time.
The fact that recent exploits of Slovenian economic diplomacy in the Arab and North African world have, for the time being at least, turned into desert dust since dictatorships of the area are being revolutionised, only adds to the necessity of being chums with people who still have money.
But I digress. The point is that both Slovenian government and the US Ambassador to Slovenia Joseph Mussomelli are bending over backwards to point out how this is a humanitarian gesture on Slovenian part and how we are helping out our American buddies to clean up this big pile of human rights abuse they’ve accumulated on their door step and with which they would have nothing to do any more, thank you very much.
If this really were the case, then Slovenia would be quite right to flip the bird to Washington, tell the Americans to fuck off and sort Gitmo out for themselves. I mean, why is it that US allies all over the world must now take in people who were denied fair trial, presumption of innocence and every other goodie of Habeas Corpus, whereas the US is now playing dumb and continues to promote democracy and human righst al over the world?
However, the case for Slovenia taking in a Gitmo detainee(s) is quite simple. Courtesy of the once-eternal Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel Slovenia signed the Vilinius Letter, effectivelly joining the Coalition of the Willing and supported the illegal and unjustified US invasion and occupation of Iraq. Slovenia later sent military and police instructors to that country, further involving itself in the mess of George W. Bush‘s making. It is only fair we contribute in resolving the mess too.
We helped fuck it up. We should also help clean it up.
To say it in a language Dubya understands : very noble of you, son, but you darn well know that ain’t never gonna happen. Once you’re in bed with the warmongers, you play the game and you keep playing until they tell you you’ve been a good ol’ boy and they thank you for your efforts with a hee-haw and a yippi ka yay while they pat you on the back. Meanwhile, it’s business as usual, with questions being raised on home soil by politicians, media and constituents alike. But in truth, no one wants to burn their mouths on such a hot potato, even if they weren’t in power when that shit went down.
And again case in point : you see that particular brand of politicos in governments all over the EU. Ours is called Pieter De Crem and he’s one nasty piece of work. He doesn’t have the intellectual baggage to be as sly or cunning as Rupel (no, I actually did NOT mean this a compliment, Dimitrij. The same goes for you, Pieter), but nevertheless gets a hard on every time he can deploy a contingent of the Belgian army in places like Afghanistan, playing lap dog to the U.S. government. Yes, even under Obama. The Big O may be – a little – cleaner than his predecessor in that department, inasmuch that he didn’t start it and the troops in Iraq were recalled more quickly, but the ‘war on terror’ still goes on under his presidency and Gitmo didn’t close, which was one of those big promises he made, wasn’t it?
That said, De Crem, a god in the depths of his own mind, is all too happy to cater to that coalition of the willing. And we have our obligatory (mandatory more like it) Gitmo prisoner over here as well, courtesy of the last-and-seemingly-perpetually-in-power resigning government. But of course, that’s all swept under the rug now, while we steadfastly stay on course to break the 365 days and 6 hours mark in our equally perpetual round of pre- formation negotiations to form a new federal government…
Bullshit. Participating in deposing a ruthless dictator does not equate or lead into taking political prisoners. For shame.
@dr. Arf: At least, you guys regularly make the international news. And it looks like as if Belgium will be the first functioning post-political state. Or something 😉
@crni: Well, when you support in an illegal invasion of a sovereign country, it does. Besides, this person will not be a prisoner, but a free person with all the benefits and duties thereof. Insofar as you can call a person who was abducted, held illegally and to be transferred to a third country, free.
No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t say so anywhere. Show me, where JJ or Rupel signed on the dotted line that SLO will take GITMO prisoners because it supported the invasion? And let’s not even start the protracted argument abut the legality of the invasion (which I was personally against). Last I heard UN passed a resolution about some “severe consequences” for Saddam’s regime Last I heard there was no international body such as UN, court in Hague or anything that condemned the invasion of Iraq and gave the perpetrators GITMO prisoners as punishment.
No, this is solely Pahor’s decision. he did not have to take this prisoner and the fact that he did is his burden to bear. And the wrong decision, too.