CIA turned some Guantanamo Bay prisoners into double agents against al-Qaeda --- In the early years after Sept. 11, 2001, the CIA turned some Guantanamo Bay prisoners into double agents, sending them home to help the United States kill terrorists, current and former U.S. officials said. --- The CIA promised the prisoners freedom, safety for their families and millions of dollars from the agency’s secret accounts. --- It was a gamble. Officials knew there was a chance that some prisoners might quickly spurn their deal and kill Americans. --- The program was carried out in a secret facility: eight small cottages a few hundred yards from the administrative offices of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The cottages, hidden behind a ridge covered in thick scrub and cactus, were designed to feel more like hotel rooms than prison cells, and some CIA officials jokingly referred to them collectively as the Marriott. -- Nearly a dozen current and former U.S. officials described aspects of the program to the Associated Press. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the secret program publicly by name, even though it ended in about 2006. --- Current and former officials said dozens of prisoners were evaluated, but only a handful, from a variety of countries, were turned into spies who signed agreements to work for the CIA. - More, Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo, — Associated Press