Two Pakistani Citizens Released from Guantanamo After 20 Years

Image copyright: nytimes

The Facts

  • US officials returned two Pakistani brothers to Pakistan on Thursday after detaining them at the Guantanamo Bay military prison for two decades without charging them.

  • Abdul and Mohammed Rabbani were arrested by Pakistani authorities in Karachi on suspicion of providing housing and logistical support to al-Qaeda members in 2002, before being transferred into American custody.


The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

Guantanamo Bay has tarnished the United States' reputation as a global leader in human rights. Indefinite detention harms national security by undermining global counterterrorism campaigns and feeding into the propaganda of terrorist organizations. Guantanamo Bay is a moral and military failure, must be shut down immediately, and all prisoners must finally be given their freedom back.

Pro-establishment narrative

After the 9/11 attacks stole the lives of an unprecedented number of Americans, the US justifiably took extreme measures in the new fight against terrorism — a far different war than conflicts of the past. The complex war on terror called for complex solutions — the US has atoned for its handful of sins and has taken steps to prevent further rights violations.


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO

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