Palau says its decision to temporarily take the 17 Uighurs, or Chinese Muslims, being held at the Guantanamo Bay prison was a "humanitarian gesture."
But the South Pacific island may have been motivated more by 200 million other reasons.
Two U.S. officials told the Associated Press that the U.S. was prepared to give Palau up to $200 million in return for accepting the Uighurs and as part of a mutual defense and cooperation treaty that is due to be renegotiated this year.
Figures on Palau's federal budget weren't immediately available, but if it is close to its size in 1999, when it was $71 million, the deal with the U.S. would in effect more than double the nation's spending and make it the fastest growing economy in the world.
In announcing the decision, Palau President Johnson Toribiong sounded as if the U.S. was doing his country a favor by sending the detainees there.
"I am honored and proud that the United States has asked Palau to assist with such a critical task," he said in a press release. "This is but a small thing we can do to thank our best friend and ally for all it has done of Palau." - FOX News Story
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