The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Wednesday released its fiscal year-end report on the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, reporting that around 17 percent of former detainees who were released (122 out of 693) have been confirmed to have returned to the battlefield.
Another 13 percent or so (86) are suspected of reengaging following their release. Furthermore, the report states that former detainees communicate routinely with each other, families of other former detainees, and previous associates who are members of terrorist organizations.
https://twitter.com/JoePerticone/status/776205248792817664
Reuters notes that although President Obama, who ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay facility in his first month in office, has been rushing to find countries to accept the remaining detainees (after a few state governors balked at plans to relocate them in existing facilities on American soil), far more detainees (532) were released under President George W. Bush.
Thomas Joscelyn is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
1. 208 confirmed and suspected #Guantanamo recidivists, according to new ODNI report. 132 at large. https://t.co/asggZchOn2
— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) September 14, 2016
2. 188 confirmed & suspected #Guantanamo recidivists transferred during Bush admin. 20 transferred by Obama admin.
— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) September 14, 2016
3. Recidivism "rate" given is 30%, but I don't rely on the rate. US intel doesn't know what many transferred detainees are doing.
— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) September 14, 2016
On Tuesday, the White House issued a veto threat against the Guantanamo Detainee Transfer Prohibition Act, which would pull the plug on the funding of prisoner transfers.
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Report from @AP: White House issues veto threat on Guantánamo bill. https://t.co/C6ajtmTz0K @MiamiHerald
— Carol Rosenberg (@carolrosenberg) September 13, 2016
Just in from the White House… https://t.co/HMfmqZZBpl pic.twitter.com/EFRuNAUNyY
— Carol Rosenberg (@carolrosenberg) September 13, 2016
The veto threat from the White House reads, in part:
In February, the Administration submitted a comprehensive plan to safely and responsibly close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to bring this chapter of our history to a close. Rather than constructively engage with the Administration on the imperative of closing the facility, this bill would seek to prohibit any and all transfers of detainees, even where such transfers are conducted securely and responsibly and to further substantial U.S. national security interests. This bill represents an effort not only to extend the facility’s operation – as have the other unwarranted legislative restrictions on transfers – but to bring to a standstill the substantial progress the Administration has made in safely and securely reducing the facility’s population.
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