Fate of Chinese Gitmo detainees mulled

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, April 1 (UPI) -- A decision by the Obama administration on the fates of 17 Chinese Muslim terror detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may be nearing, sources say.

Administration officials were at the military facility Tuesday interviewing the ethnic Uighur detainees to assess their suitability for release, possibly to the United States, an unnamed official told The New York Times.

The administration faces a dilemma with the Uighurs, partly because President Barack Obama's plans to close Guantanamo Bay depends on inducing other nations to accept some of the detainees, and they are reportedly expecting the United States to accept some of the prisoners itself. But any moves to allow former detainees into the country will bring strong domestic protests.

"I don't think people want people that could potentially be terrorists in the United States," U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va., told the Times.

Another complicating factor is that records on the Uighurs -- who were arrested in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001 and 2002 -- are sketchy, with doubts remaining about their identities and connections to terrorist activities, the newspaper said.