The U.S. government on Thursday released 13 former terror suspects from its prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a Defense Department official, a move that may mark the beginning of attempts by U.S. officials to more quickly decide the fate of the detainees. Some 647 others still potentially face Pentagon legal proceedings that have been sharply criticized by lawyers and human-rights groups. Most of those detainees were captured during or shortly after the war in Afghanistan in late 2001. The Pentagon, which has legal authority over the detainees, had previously released 23 terrorism suspects from Guantanamo, including 18 in March. Defense officials have been criticized for taking so long to charge or release the detainees, some of whom have been in custody 18 months. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently declared an end to major hostilities in Afghanistan, and that has increased pressure to deal with the detainees, because prisoners traditionally are released at the end of a war. The detainees come from 42 nations, and their home countries have been pressing the United States to resolve their cases. The prisoners face at least three possibilities, officials say: They may be freed if U.S. officials decide they do not pose a threat; they may be returned to their home countries to be detained or tried there; and they may be prosecuted before U.S. military tribunals. Full Story
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