by Bryant Jordan

From Military.com | Original Article

A former GI at Guantanamo Bay has made his separate peace with two of the men he once guarded, apologizing to the former detainees in a TV broadcast Tuesday night for what they went through at the island base.

Neely has previously publicly alleged systematic abuses at Guantanamo and regret for his role there, but his meeting with former inmates -- arranged by the BBC -- was a first.

"I'm really sorry for what happened there," he told the men as they were seated in the studio. "I wish I would never had took part in it, but I did, and I'm man enough to say I'm sorry for what happened."

Neely was assigned to Guantanamo in 2002 and was there when the first detainees arrived. After leaving the Army he headed a chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. He previously alleged in an interview with the Center for the Study of Human Rights in America that he witnessed abuses at Guantanamo.

The former inmates said they appreciated Neely's public comments but said he did not have to apologize. It's the U.S. government that owes he apology, said Ruhal Ahmed.

Shafiq Rasul, the other former inmate, said Neely's comments had made things easier for himself and Ahmed, because they backed up what they had been saying for years of their treatment.

The two British Muslim men were held more than two years before being repatriated to England. They were picked up in Afghanistan, where they say they were merely delivering humanitarian aid.

Neely found Rasul via Facebook, the Internet social networking site, and the two started corresponding. The BBC learned of the contact and asked Neely if he would come to England to meet up with Rasul and Ahmed.

The BBC paid for Neely’s airfare and a two-day hotel stay in England last month.

The broadcast company filmed the three men as Neely was leaving. The one-time guard and former detainees shook hands and embraced, and Neely said he was “leaving with two more friends than he had” before he arrived.

Images from BBC America broadcast.

To watch the videos of the reunion click here.