Oh boy! And, I thought the only motivation for European countries to give asylum to Gitmo detainees was because they had some sense of honor—you know they had been yapping to Bush about closing it and now maybe felt some duty to take some terrorists off our hands.
However, here is an article in the Washington Post suggesting there is another motive—although they didn’t want to help Bush, they want Obama to succeed (too big to fail?) and they want him to like them.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, warned his counterparts in Brussels on Monday that they risked losing face with Obama — who is vastly more popular in Europe than Bush — if they didn’t help out.
No churlishness either:
But even lawmakers in those countries said they should try to find other ways to help, given Europe’s loud opposition to the existence of Guantanamo. “We should not be in the least bit churlish, or just let the Americans stew in their own juice,” said Andrew Tyrie, a member of the British Parliament from the Conservative Party. “We’ve got to help Obama and not get on our high horse and sound very pompous.”
Nevermind that they didn’t want to help Bush or that their own people might not want Gitmo former prisoners turned lose in their countries, it is all about being popular with Obama!
By the way, when you go to the Washington Post link, check out the photo of the two Europeans discussing the issue. I looked at that photo and thought I hope to God we don’t have to save Europe again.