Saturday, March 21, 2009
Ex-Bush official to AP: Many at Gitmo are innocent
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A former Bush administration official says many Guantanamo detainees are innocent, and have been held only because U.S. officials hoped they would know something important.
Lawrence B. Wilkerson was chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell. He says only two dozen or so of the roughly 800 men held at Guantanamo are terrorists. About 240 prisoners remain at the US military prison.
"There are still innocent people there," Wilkerson told The Associated Press on Thursday. "Some have been there six or seven years."
Wilkerson says he learned of their innocence through State Department briefings and military commanders. He first made the allegations in an Internet posting this week.
The Pentagon has said the detainees are dangerous enemy combatants.
