Guantanamo Casts a Shadow On Bush’s Saudi Trip

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Bush will face a frosty reception today during a visit to Saudi Arabia amid anger at America’s continued detention of the kingdom’s citizens at Guantanamo Bay.The American president arrived in Riyadh last night on the latest stage of his tour of the Middle East and was treated to the lavish personal hospitality of King Abdullah.But talks will be soured by the demand that the prison camp’s remaining 13 Saudi detainees should be sent home at once — a plea by the interior minister, Prince Nayef, that was made public before Mr. Bush arrived.Saudi officials said growing public anger, fueled by the press, had forced Riyadh to put Guantanamo at the heart of preparations for Mr. Bush’s first visit.“I think the issue has been mishandled in bilateral terms,” the editor in chief of the Watan newspaper and a close aide to the royal family, Jamal Khashoggi, said. “It should have been resolved before the visit. Instead, it’s still in the media even though it’s nearly resolved and already agreed that they will come back.”In a fresh indication of the damage that Guantanamo’s extraordinary judicial set-up has inflicted on America, particularly among strategic allies, America’s most senior military official said yesterday that the camp should be shut.The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullin, said, “I’d like to see it shut down. I believe that from the standpoint of how it reflects on us that it’s been pretty damaging.”Intense lobbying by Saudi Arabia has resulted in the release of more than 100 of its nationals, almost half in the past four months. Riyadh’s strong relationship with Washington has been a factor in the rapid action. By contrast, only 13 have returned to Yemen, which has poor relations with America. There are currently 277 detainees at Guantanamo, down from a peak of more than 600.Nayef greets returnees and offered $2,700 to 55 released detainees to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan last year. The ex-detainees, as well as extremists who seek amnesty after returning from fighting for Al Qaeda abroad, go through an official “rehabilitation” program.The determination to put pressure on America was reinforced by the head of the National Human Rights Society, Bandar Haggar, who called for the men to be returned. “This issue has had a negative impact on U.S.-Saudi relations for six years,” he said.After a night at Riyadh Palace, the American president is to spend today at Abdullah’s ranch. Saudi officials said the gesture is a return courtesy for a 2005 stay by the then-Crown Prince Abdullah at Mr. Bush’s ranch in Texas.

Guantanamo Casts a Shadow On Bush’s Saudi Trip

Guantanamo Casts a Shadow On Bush’s Saudi Trip

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