WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.057 --> 00:00:03.360 (marker sound) 2 00:00:03.360 --> 00:00:07.700 There were a number of individuals 3 00:00:07.700 --> 00:00:10.833 that were at Guantanamo that were cleared for release. 4 00:00:13.420 --> 00:00:18.000 But we recognized 5 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:18.833 that they could not 6 00:00:18.833 --> 00:00:21.590 go back to their home country for whatever reason, 7 00:00:21.590 --> 00:00:23.310 but usually because of concerns 8 00:00:23.310 --> 00:00:25.763 about torture or mistreatment. 9 00:00:27.080 --> 00:00:28.710 I've already mentioned the Chinese Uyghurs 10 00:00:28.710 --> 00:00:30.940 that fell into this category. 11 00:00:30.940 --> 00:00:34.850 But there were a significantly larger group of people 12 00:00:34.850 --> 00:00:38.180 that fell into this category. 13 00:00:38.180 --> 00:00:41.290 So we were going out and trying to negotiate 14 00:00:41.290 --> 00:00:44.590 with countries that might be willing to accept them. 15 00:00:46.030 --> 00:00:47.620 Again because we were concerned 16 00:00:47.620 --> 00:00:51.570 about the human rights implications 17 00:00:51.570 --> 00:00:56.570 of sending these people back to their home countries. 18 00:00:57.270 --> 00:01:01.640 We were very concerned about the receiving country 19 00:01:01.640 --> 00:01:04.330 being a place that had stellar human rights records. 20 00:01:04.330 --> 00:01:08.933 So we were generally engaging European governments, 21 00:01:09.810 --> 00:01:14.810 some other governments in Africa, in Latin America, 22 00:01:15.660 --> 00:01:19.030 Australia, other places where we felt 23 00:01:19.030 --> 00:01:21.300 that they had a very strong record on human rights 24 00:01:21.300 --> 00:01:22.835 and there were no concerns 25 00:01:22.835 --> 00:01:24.893 about these people being abused. 26 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:30.927 So as you pointed out, 27 00:01:30.927 --> 00:01:32.950 and the issue quickly became one, 28 00:01:32.950 --> 00:01:35.020 when I would start these discussions 29 00:01:35.020 --> 00:01:37.170 well why won't the United States take them? 30 00:01:38.930 --> 00:01:39.970 And 31 00:01:43.230 --> 00:01:45.560 there's no good answer to that question. 32 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:50.560 And this is a point that I raised very early on in memos 33 00:01:51.024 --> 00:01:54.310 to Secretary Rice and to the Deputy Secretary of State 34 00:01:54.310 --> 00:01:57.340 saying this is the most significant hurdle 35 00:01:57.340 --> 00:02:00.763 to any type of diplomatic progress on these cases. 36 00:02:02.210 --> 00:02:06.000 In fairness to them, to Deputy Secretary Negroponte 37 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.323 and Secretary Rice, they both recognized that. 38 00:02:09.480 --> 00:02:12.610 And Secretary Rice became very much a proponent 39 00:02:12.610 --> 00:02:17.610 for the US revising its policy, in this regard. 40 00:02:17.630 --> 00:02:19.840 It was quite delicate diplomacy 41 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:23.530 because this was a very sensitive issue. 42 00:02:23.530 --> 00:02:26.190 And particularly because of the unpopularity 43 00:02:26.190 --> 00:02:28.780 of President Bush in Europe. 44 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:30.523 It was a difficult sell. 45 00:02:32.530 --> 00:02:36.710 As we got closer to the Bush administration, 46 00:02:36.710 --> 00:02:38.770 to the end of the Bush administration, 47 00:02:38.770 --> 00:02:40.470 I think a lot of these governments 48 00:02:42.130 --> 00:02:44.170 were willing to talk to us about this 49 00:02:44.170 --> 00:02:45.730 but had already decided at that point, 50 00:02:45.730 --> 00:02:48.440 look we're not gonna make any decisions on this. 51 00:02:48.440 --> 00:02:50.980 We're gonna wait and if we're gonna do a favor, 52 00:02:50.980 --> 00:02:53.480 we're gonna do it for the new president. 53 00:02:53.480 --> 00:02:56.003 After President Obama's election, 54 00:02:58.964 --> 00:03:02.020 and the fact that he was quite popular in Europe, 55 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:04.660 a lot of governments became much more receptive 56 00:03:04.660 --> 00:03:05.840 to this idea. 57 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:07.590 When the administration did change, 58 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:13.930 I came into my office on January 21st of 2009, 59 00:03:13.930 --> 00:03:16.110 I think I had five voicemail messages 60 00:03:16.110 --> 00:03:17.437 from different governments saying, 61 00:03:17.437 --> 00:03:19.137 "Okay, we're willing to talk now."