Judge Orders Club Gitmo Guests Released ... In the United States

Words escape me.

In a stinging rebuke to the Bush administration, a federal judge Tuesday ordered the Pentagon to immediately release a small group of Chinese Muslims from Guantanamo Bay into the United States.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina said in a landmark ruling that it would be wrong for the Bush administration to continue holding the 17 detainees, known as Uighurs, since they are no longer considered enemy combatants.

The Uighurs have been in custody for almost seven years and have been cleared for release since 2004, but the government has not been able to find a country willing to take them in. Bush administration lawyers argued Tuesday that Urbina did not have the authority to order the Uighurs released into the United States.

More here. The Chinese want them back, but there are "fears" they'd be tortured. Ironic how that is. Everyone screamed about inmates at Club Gitmo being tortured, but the Bush administration doesn't want them sent back to China.

Although the Chinese government has demanded custody of the Uighurs, supporters and the Bush administration fear they would be tortured if turned over to Beijing.

Need you even ask who appointed Urbina?

Judge Urbina was appointed to the United States District Court in July 1994.

Just in case anyone has a faulty memory like, say, the media, Urbina was a Clinton appointee. Naturally, another group of inmates are thrilled with this outrageous decision.