More former Gitmo prisoners suspected of returning to terrorist activities

(NationalSecurity.news) The terrorism recidivism rate for ex-prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military detention facility who have been released by President Barack Obama keeps rising, officials say, with the latest figures actually doubling from six to 12 in the six months through January, data released by the administration shows.

The higher re-engagement rate is sure to bolster arguments from critics who have pleaded with the White House to stop releasing Gitmo prisoners for the very reason they are likely to return to the fight.

As The Hill reported this week:

Of the 144 detainees released under Obama, the number now confirmed to be back in the fight is seven, according to the report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The number of Obama-era releases suspected of re-engaging is now 12.

In addition, one more former detainee who was released under President George W. Bush is now suspected of rejoining the fight.

In sum, 118 of the 676 prisoners that have been released under both presidents have been confirmed to have participated in terrorist activities, while another 86 former detainees are suspected of it.

The latest report also states that some prisoners still being held at the Cuba-based facility are likely to return to terrorist activities if they are released at some point in the future.

“Based on trends identified during the past eleven years, we assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred,” the intelligence report said. “Transfers to countries with ongoing conflicts and internal instability, as well as recruitment by insurgent and terrorist organizations, could pose problems.

“While enforcement of transfer conditions may deter reengagement by many former detainees and delay reengagement by others, some detainees who are determined to reengage will do so regardless of any transfer conditions, albeit probably at a lower rate than if they were transferred without conditions,” it continued.

Republicans in particular have broadly criticized Obama’s plan to close the Gitmo facility. Last week Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., introduced a resolution co-sponsored by four other GOP senators rejecting the Obama plan.

Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., said the revised numbers of former detainees returning to the fight is another indication that the facility should not be closed; Jenkins’ district includes Fort Leavenworth, a military prison the Pentagon is considering using to house remaining Guantanamo detainees if that facility is closed.

“More and more, we are hearing about ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees rejoining the battlefield in hopes of harming Americans at home and abroad,” she said in a written statement. “This is another reason why we must reject the President’s so-called ‘plan’ to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay and increase transparency on future transfers.

“These detainees are some of the most dangerous people in the world – they should never be allowed the opportunity to reengage in terrorist activities,” she added.

Obama issued an executive order immediately after taking office in 2009 to close the Gitmo facility. In February, he said keeping the facility open was harming U.S. national security.

“Congress has left no room for confusion. It is against the law—and it will stay against the law—to transfer terrorist detainees to American soil,” Speaker of the House Paul Ryan countered. “We will not jeopardize our national security over a campaign promise.”

“We are at war, yet incredibly the president is more focused on relocating and releasing enemy combatants than on detaining new ones, House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul added.

See also:

The Hill

VOA News

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