Posted on 01/06/2010 1:58:23 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A classified Pentagon assessment shows one in five detainees released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay has joined or is suspected of joining militant groups like al Qaeda, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
The disclosure comes amid revelations that former detainees were playing a leadership role in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- a Yemen-based group believed to be behind a failed plot to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day.
Under pressure to increase safeguards, President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday he had suspended the transfer of additional Guantanamo detainees to Yemen, citing the deteriorating security situation in the country.
A previous Pentagon assessment last April showed that 14 percent of former detainees had joined or were suspected of joining militant groups, up from 11 percent in December 2008.
Two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new Pentagon assessment showed the percentage had grown to 20 percent.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell declined to comment on the latest figures, saying they remained classified, but told reporters, "The trend hasn't reversed itself."
"This is an inexact science," Morrell said about whether enough screening was done of detainees in the past. "You know, we are making subjective calls based upon judgment, intelligence. And so there is no foolproof answer in this realm. That's what makes this so difficult."
...
There are 198 prisoners left at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, which once held 750, Pentagon officials said. Among those still being held there, roughly 91 are Yemeni.
Obama has encountered various complications in trying to close the Guantanamo facility and has acknowledged he will not be able to meet a self-imposed one-year deadline to close it that he promised when he took office last January.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
insanity
“Rejoining” militants.
I’m waiting for one to join the Obama administration.
I would not be surprised to hear that the US is providing Alquaida placement services. Like, having exit interviews on their experience, what are their talents, and where should we place them. Also, presuming we are providing airfare out of Guantanamo, what destination and airline they prefer and whether they want the kosher meal or not.
translation:leftist moonbats have threatened to self-flaggulate themselves on the White House steps and Sugurdaddy Soros cut off $ if Barry doesn't close GITMO
Maybe they can fly Air Force One back home.
These people were released under Bush and Obama, and McCain thought it was a swell idea.
I thought it was ludicrous to release any of them until hostilities were declared over.
Ah who cares. These three obviously didn’t.
If those guys down at Gitmo rot in place, I wouldn’t release them until one day after I thought they were no longer a risk to this nation. And as long as terrorist groups are still carrying out terrorism, they’re a threat.
Hey, it’s a job. These days you can’t be to picky.
If they can swing it, with opportunity to get in a few snaps over the Tappan Zee and Lady.
"If you hold people for years upon years, ah, with no hope of any outcome favorable to them, I think you tend to, to put in their own minds this idea of becoming a radical - even if they weren't radicals to begin with, they are now".
This is ridiculous on many dimensions. The detainees are represented by counsel and their counselor will give them information on the process and where they stand. Numerous detainees have been processed and released, so why would a non-combatant have "no hope of any outcome favorable to them" when their comrades have been released?
Additionally, his statement lends credence to the argument that radical muslims radicalize others who were not a terrorist threat before. If so, why do we want them in our prison system?
If we follow the rationale that Guantanamo creates and fosters terrorism, why wouldn’t the federal pen in Thomson,Illinois, foster terrorism, too? Continuing in that vein, why the hell would we bring them here, when Cuba is a tough nut to crack for any terrorist?
Its 5 of 5 rejoining the militants.
SHEESH!
considering that the feds have released all the ones they thought were “safe” to release (what a foolish idea), it’s a good bet that virtually ALL of the remaining jihad-scum at Gitmo will be right back to their terrorist ways if given the chance.......
FDR’s precedent with the 8 German saboteurs landed by submarine on Long Island should have been good enough for this current war -— execute all of the SOBs ....(well in the WWII case we did let two off who turned on the others in that instance, but can’t do that with jihad-scum).
Too bad we cazn’t tell which one out of the five will return to fight again.
Let’s just keep them all locked up, just in case.
The other four out of the five will understand why they have to be locked up indefinitely, if we just explain it to them.
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