But by the fall of 2002, some senior Justice Department officials were uneasy with the Pentagon's handling of the detainees, the slow progress of the military commissions and the seemingly improvised nature of decisions about how to prosecute suspected terrorists.
"[In late March] the Immigration Department had said that in the next couple of weeks they would have some answers for the detainees on the progress of their visa applications," St George said.
Almost no records were kept of the detainees or the progress of interrogations in the first year.
By the fall of 2002, these agents believed that they were making progress with detainees, including Qahtani, by slowly establishing a dynamic of friendly rapport.
In fact, the administration's recommended option of creating a highly skilled team to interrogate "high-value detainees" remains a work in progress.
The statement goes on to say that the CBP "investigates all allegations of misconduct, and is committed to improving on the progress made in detainee treatment and continuing to emphasise policies that protect human life and treat individuals with dignity and respect".
As the war progressed, groups of detainees were transferred to and from other prisons according to their behaviour or level of risk and the number of inmates per institution.
In recent months, North Korea has ceased ballistic missile tests, offered to dismantle some testing facilities, and released some American detainees — developments the U.S. has touted as progress.
He also reported no progress on the issue of political detainees, saying "we know there are 9,000 women in detention centres and none of them have been released".
"We welcome this release of children by the Israeli authorities and we look forward to further progress on the issue of child detainees," said Jean Gough, UNICEF Special Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory.
