by TChris

The Bush administration traded five terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia in exchange for the release of five Britons and two others convicted of terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia. This news follows Friday's denial by the spokesman for the National Security Council that the release of the Saudi prisoners was related to the release of the British prisoners.

The deal generated controversy within the administration, both as a matter of policy and in the selection of the prisoners to be released. Once the deal was finally made, the administration took pains to conceal its terms.

"We did not want to make it a clear quid pro quo swap, so we put a distance between them," one of the officials said.

The Saudis were released in May 2003. The Saudi government freed the British prisoners three months later.