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Facebook Reunites Guantanamo Detainees and Guard

by Terrence O'Brien on January 16, 2010 at 02:30 PM

Facebook Reunites Guantanamo Detainees and GuardSometimes the Internet provides us with moments that are as heart-warming, as they are incredibly awkward. The reuniting of Ruhal Ahmed and Shafiq Rasul, a pair of British former Guantanamo detainees, with Brandon Neely, a former guard, is a tale about making amends and the power of social networking. But, like an episode of 'The Office' it has it's fair share of discomfort.

Okay, maybe we should explain. Mr. Ahmed and Mr. Rasul were plucked out of Afghanistan, where they were on vacation, for suspected terrorist ties in 2002. For two years, they were held in the Cuban facility without ever being charged. There, they claim to have suffered abuse and beatings at the hands of their American guards and interrogators. One of those guards was Mr. Neely. Years later, Neely was still so bothered by some of the abuses he'd witnessed and allowed to take place, if not taken part in, that he sought to make amends.

So, Brandon Neely started looking for Ruhal, with whom he had developed a bond over rap music, on Facebook. Thanks to the social networking service, Neely was able to track down Shafiq and eventually Ruhal, as well. After a series of brief electronic exchanges the BBC decided to get the three men together in a room. The meeting, which you can watch by following the source link,

While we don't doubt the sincerity of the regret and forgiveness expressed, the immensity of the discomfort apparent in all parties is, we hate to admit, kind of funny. "You look different without the jump suits," Neely cracks, eliciting a round of understandably nervous chuckles. [From: BBC]

Tags: facebook, Guantanamo Bay, GuantanamoBay, top, war on terror, WarOnTerror

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