US officials discussing Guantanamo closure with UK counterparts News
US officials discussing Guantanamo closure with UK counterparts

[JURIST] A senior US State Department official has indicated that US officials are talking with their British counterparts about how to eventually close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. US State Deputy Assistant Secretary Colleen Graffy [official profile] told the BBC Sunday that "continuous discussion" was going on and that “hopefully, over the years, we will find a way to either release them to their country of origin or they will declare that they no longer want to kill us.” London’s Independent newspaper meanwhile reported Sunday that on a visit to London [JURIST report] last week, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] sought British advice on a UK initiative to deport [JURIST report] some UK terrorism suspects back to their countries of origins and sign agreements to avoid their torture or mistreatment.

The revelations come as Prime Minister Tony Blair [BBC profile] faces pressure to condemn the detention facility and take a tougher stance with President Bush. There are approximately 490 detainees in Guantanamo Bay, most of whom have been there for over three years. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara resigns during Vietnam Conflict

On November 29, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was resigning from his office to accept an appointment as head of the World Bank. The announcement came as the Vietnam Conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States and abroad.