At the White House briefing today, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about news reports that the British government was not exactly thrilled to be in the dark about the decision to transfer four Chinese Muslim prisoners, known as Uighurs, from Guantanamo Bay to Bermuda this week. The Brits have told Bermuda, one of its territories, that they should have been consulted first, and the issue looks to also be causing drama between the U.S. and folks at 10 Downing Street. “They’re pissed,” an unnamed State Department official told ABC News yesterday. At the briefing, Gibbs was asked about the quote, which turned into a lot of talk about who was "pissed" at who:
Q: How do you respond to the charge that in the hurry to make the president's deadline of closing Guantanamo within a year some decisions are being made without proper consultation? A senior State Department official yesterday said that the British government was, quote-unquote, "pissed" that they had not been consulted about Uighurs going to Bermuda.
GIBBS: I think they were -- if I'm not mistaken, and I don't want to parse the word "pissed," but I think they...
(LAUGHTER)
Q: It was your administration's word, not mine.
GIBBS: All right. But I -- I think if I read most of those stories correctly, they were not pleased with the government of Bermuda.
Q: They were pissed at the Obama administration is what we have been told by the State Department.
(CROSSTALK)
GIBBS: Well, maybe I misread many of the stories, but...
Q: Maybe they were pissed at both of them.
Long story short, Gibbs defended the administration's handling of the Uighurs, insisting that no "hasty decisions" are being made about GITMO.
