Originally posted by: RichardE
Originally posted by: Jhhnn
Originally posted by: RichardE
Originally posted by: LumbergTech
Originally posted by: RichardE
They deserve it because someone poured water on their face.
Can we water board you for a bit and then shake it off with some hugs?
Do I get to go free even after killing people if I sign a piece of paper and promise to be good?
Nice hyperbole. From the article-
Yemen released 170 men it had arrested on suspicion of having ties to al-Qaida
Shucks, even flimsier grounds than the accusations against most of the gitmo captives...
Yemen is the kind of place where they'll arrest you if they feel like it, let you go on the same premises, and they've been sucking up mightily to the Bush Admin, getting paid for it, no doubt...
How did I know you would support letting terrorists go, surprise surprise :roll:
So, uhh, anybody arrested by any govt anywhere in the world for supposedly harboring radical sentiments is automagically a "Terrarist!", right?
None of those released were ever accused of actually performing any specific act of "Terrarism!", but rather of having raised the suspicion of their govt, whatever that means.
It seems clear that many of the respondents in this thread have zero understanding of Yemeni society, at all. It's one of the poorest and most backward places on the planet, where the govt rules essentially through consent of tribal leaders. It's also a place where a blood oath really means something, particularly when made to the leader of one's tribe. That's essentially what's happened. The now released suspects were released into the custody of their tribal leaders, who have offered their own honor to vouchsafe the conduct of these guys, who are essentially probationers at this point. Their families will lose their homes and businesses if these guys screw up badly. Additionally, if they dishonor the leader of their tribe, they'll have their throat slit, and nobody who matters will shed a tear. Rather, tribe members will eagerly volunteer to do the job themselves, so as to gain favor and honor within the tribe...
The Yemeni govt also gains allegiance of tribal leaders in the process, binding them by their word in support of the govt's anti terror policy...
http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=26404
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35836.htm
It's obviousl not an easy place to govern, at all, and Saleh has shown himself to be quite astute wrt walking the tightrope between western demands and the sentiments of many of his countrymen. He's made mistakes, but he's not stupid. If anybody understands how to deal with the situation in Yemen, it's him, not the hardliners of the Right in this country, that's for sure...