Trump Administration Kills GITMO Detainee Released by Barack Obama

Townhall ^ | 03/06/2017 | Justin Holcomb

[Fedora]

An airstrike authorized by the Trump administration against an al Queda outpost in Yemen has killed a former detainee from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba who was released in 2009.

"We can confirm the death of a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Yasir al Silmi," said Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.

This means that President Donald Trump has killed a foreign combatant that was released under the authority of Barack Obama. . .

[Fedora]

In other words, one of Obama's Gitmo releases was an Al Qaeda terrorist. The backstory: the Obama administration was helping the Saudis support Al Qaeda in Yemen against Iran-backed rebels. As Kerry was finalizing negotiations with Iran, State Department Guantánamo closure special envoy Lee Wolosky and Susan Rice accelerated the release of some Yemenis from Gitmo (see Obama Administration Intends to Transfer 17 or 18 Guantánamo Detainees). I don't know the identity of these detainees--maybe someone else has this info--but conceivably, given the timing, this may have been a move to appease Saudi concerns over the Iran deal. See Blame Obama, Not Trump, For The Terrorism In Yemen: "Yemen is a small littoral nation on the Arabian Peninsula south of Saudi Arabia, and the poorest in the Middle East. A civil war broke out there two years ago when the Saudis launched a military campaign against a group of Yemeni rebels called the Houthis. . .Saudi Arabia is the Middle East’s foremost Sunni power while the Houthis are Shias backed by the region’s preeminent Shiite state Iran. It was another intra-Islamic fight, Sunnis versus Shias, the last thing America needed to involve itself in (again). President Obama intervened anyway. Determined to mollify the Saudis, who were aghast over his deal with Iran, he agreed that American forces would assist by refueling Saudi jets and providing Riyadh with intelligence. In doing so, he ended up stranding himself in another interminable conflict that ran counter to American interests. Yemen is home to one of our most enduring enemies in the War on Terror: al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, regarded by most analysts as a sophisticated threat to the United States. . .").

[Parley Baer]

I love all this winning.

[George from New England]

1st in with ... WINNING !

[HarleyLady27]

WOOHOO!!!

Way to go President Trump, Mattis and our Greatest Military ever!!!

[bobby.223]

Outstanding! Keep stackin’ ‘em up!

[Paul46360]

[Sasparilla]

...This means that President Donald Trump has killed a foreign combatant...

When did the President find time to do this??

[MortMan]

Irony is the opposite of wrinkly! ;-P

[COBOL2Java]

[NEMDF]

Yep... more crumbling of 0bama’s so-called “legacy”.. And got a bad guy, to boot!

[mastertex]

Kill them all....and let ali sort them out.....

[Lurkinanloomin]

Our government switched sides in the War on Terror.
Al Queda took down the Twin Towers and damaged the Pentagon, but somehow our government, including R jersey wearing Democrats McCain, Graham and Rubio, were arming jihadists in Yemen, Libya and Syria.

[proud American in Canada]

LOL! If I didn’t dislike his policies so much, I’d feel sorry for him.

Everything is crumbling under his feet....

[novemberslady]

the prettiest sound on earth...

[Fresh Wind]

Gosh, I hope the bad news doesn’t upset poor wittle Barry, and ruin his latest vacation in Tahiti.

[MinuteGal]

"I hope the bad news....doesn't ruin Barry's latest vacation in Tahiti"

You're referring, of course, to his month-long, luxury Tahitian vacation without his wife taggin' along....

Leni

[gnickgnack2]

Or Not...missed by 27 seconds. That’s like days in Olympic terms.

[Albion Wilde]

Al Queda took down the Twin Towers and damaged the Pentagon, but somehow our government, including R jersey wearing Democrats McCain, Graham and Rubio, were arming jihadists in Yemen, Libya and Syria.

[JimRed]

Way behind with the WINNING!

[onedoug]

Not enough!