Did Obama Overrule Military in Gitmo Terrorist Release?
Arale’s transfer was, comparatively speaking, a high-profile event. He was one of the last detainees transferred to Guantanamo. Arale was also captured in Eastern Africa, not South Asia as most of the other Gitmo detainees were. Thus, the DOD thought it necessary to defend the transfer decision in the aforementioned press release. This is somewhat unusual, to say the least, as most of the detainees who were transferred to Gitmo never had a press release announcing the DOD’s reasoning. Clearly, the military came to the conclusion that Arale was a particularly dangerous individual. There is another possibility: The Obama administration overruled the military’s assessment of Arale. [Editor -- President Obama has released at least two detainees -- Abdullahi Sudi Arale and Binyam Mohamed -- where the publicly available information indicated they are extremely dangerous and a federal judge had not ordered either released. It is difficult to believe Obama would defy an order 1) by the Supreme Court to release former Gitmo detainees if they are acquitted, or 2) from federal judges releasing detainees out the front gate of Thomson (if no other country will take them) after finding the intelligence does not reach the level of beyond a reasonable doubt in their minds.]
Congressman Wolf Calls for Release of Gitmo Recidivism Study
It is my understanding that the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) may have upwardly revised its recidivism numbers on former Guantanamo Bay detainees that have returned to terrorism, but this information has not been shared with most members of Congress. I hope your administration will not suppress this information. The American people have a right to know the facts about the danger posed by released detainees. Over the past year, I have called on your administration numerous times to declassify this information. You have a moral obligation to share this with the public.
Showdown in Sterling on 12/22: rally against the jailhouse jihad moving north to Thomson
No, al Qaeda will not break out of “beyond Supermax.” They’ll just wage jailhouse jihad at every opportunity and force guards to extract them from their cells when its feeding time. The slightest bruise will be dutifully reported to the press by their pro bono lawyers. Those indicted will have similar fun in lockups around the country for, in addition to Manhattan and Brooklyn, an additional 50 detainees will be farmed out for federal prosecution.
Gitmo in the heartland
Attorney General Eric Holder is, of course, in no position to raise any objections to the Gitmo-in-the-heartland plans. Remember: He served as senior partner with Covington and Burling — the prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm that represents 17 Yemenis currently held at Gitmo. [Editor -- I wonder if any of those 17 were among the 6 Yemenis just released by President Obama. Come back here for an update on this later today.]
At the water’s edge; For our troops’ sake, Rep. Boehner should honor the traditional maxim
Support for the additional troops is shaky in the liberal wing of the president’s party. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she won’t personally lobby for support of the additional troops; the president will have to do that himself, she says. Obama deserves a more reliable field general in the House. For better or worse, that means Obama is counting more than ever on support from Republicans — lots of them. He should have it, and without the strings Boehner seems bent on attaching. The debate on this should be strictly on the merits of additional troop levels in Afghanistan, without bleeding over into other disagreements such as Gitmo. If need be, the president’s strategists should separate out funding for the proposed Gitmo relocation to [Thomson] Illinois from the Afghan funding issue. [Editor -- Republicans alone don't have the votes to pass a troop surge into Afghanistan; the 'national security' Democrats should compromise by joining them in prohibiting detainees being brought into the U.S. for all purposes as an amendment to the authorization. In addition, they should prohibit affording suspected terrorists Miranda warnings during all Overseas Contingency Operations. Our troops and intelligence agents should not be forced to defend our nation with al Qaeda's lawyers tied to their backs.]
The Real Gitmo; What I saw at America’s best detention facility for terrorists.
An Italian journalist who accompanies me throughout much of the tour says that two Tunisian detainees who were recently transferred from Guantánamo to Italy to await trial are probably very upset right about now. They are being held in a maximum-security prison in Milan that he describes as “hell” compared with Gitmo. The Italian gentleman tells me this right after we tour the food-preparation facilities. There we found that the detainees are offered six types of meals, totaling between 5,000 and 6,000 calories, daily. In their more candid moments, the detainees complain to camp personnel that it is difficult for them to claim they have been “tortured” when they have pot bellies.
State GOP leader: Thomson prison worth a lot more than gov’s price tag
In the nation’s capital Tuesday, Quinn said he expected the Obama administration to pay the state “at least” the $145 million that it cost to build Thomson. “That number is extremely low,” Radogno said. “Not only does Illinois get stuck with the terrorists, we get stuck with a big bill.”
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