The US has stepped up efforts to return foreign fighters captured in Iraq and Afghanistan to their homelands, the New York Times reports. More than 200 detainees have been turned over to security services in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries as the military works to empty its controversial secret prisons—and dodge continuing problems at Guantanamo Bay.
"In discussions we agreed that Guantanamo was not working for lots of reasons and that the simplest way to proceed is to send them back home," said a former State Department official. Home countries are often better able to deal with the captured militants, according to officials. But critics have raised concerns about harsh treatment the returning men will face in prisons back home.
(More foreign fighters stories.)