Paul Salopek will be freed on Saturday from Sudan, where he was being held on charges of espionage. Salopek acknowledges that he entered the country without a visa, which is a civil offense in Sudan. Bill Richards, Governor of New Mexico, helped secure his release in a meeting with Sudan's president Al-Bashir. Richardson had worked with al-Bashir in 1996 on the release of three Red Cross workers detained by Marxist rebels in Sudan, and Salopek is a resident of New Mexico. But there's another element to this story:
From the Chicago Tribune: During the meeting, according to Humphrey, al-Bashir said, "When I announce this, the Sudanese people will say, 'What about our people in Guantanamo Bay?'"
Ah yes, what about the people in Guantanamo Bay? Perhaps we should ship them to one of the secret prisons that Bush recently admitted that the U.S. runs after all? Pres. Bush said he would send the message immediately to release the detainees, so we'll see what happens. Isn't this, in effect, similar to negotiating with terrorists? The Sudanese government isn't terrorist per se, but it looks like they agreed to let people go in exchange for the U.S. release of some Sudanese prisoners. Hmmm...
