I am sure that there are a bunch of you out there that are glad that 17 suspected terrorists are not being released into the US population. The appeal stems from the case of 17 Uighur prisoners (Wikopedia Link) who were ordered released from Gitmo because there was no evidence against them when they challenged their detention. Boumediene v. Bush ruled that detainees cannot be held indefinitely. Here is the link to the reading of the opinions in the case. The Oyez Project has a page with the oral arguements in the case also.

We now have the problem of holding people without charges, determining we cannot charge them with a crime, and having no where to send them. They are not a family pet and cannot be put down.

From the article in NYT:


American officials have said for years that the men could not be returned to China and that they could not find another country willing to accept them. Officials say Uighur prisoners might be tortured or killed by the Chinese government, which has a stern policy toward its Muslim population in the region.

Lawyers for the men said they were reviewing their options, which could include asking the Supreme Court to review the case. One of their lawyers, Susan Baker Manning, said the ruling meant innocent people “can spend the rest of their lives in prison even though the U.S. knows it’s a mistake.”