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Obama's Terrorism Policies Questioned
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| The sun rises over Camp Justice at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba last Thursday, on the day U.S. President Barack Obama ordered the prison closed within a year. There is increasing opposition to Mr. Obama’s executive order last week to close the terrorist prison. (Colin Perkel/The Canadian Press/Associated Press) |
Opponents Cite Gitmo Inmates' Recidivism, Terrorists' Early Releases
By Michael P. Tremoglie, The Bulletin
There is increasing opposition to President Barack Obama’s executive order last week closing the terrorist prison in Guantanamo and suspending the military commission’s trials of terrorists.
Revelations that released Guantanamo Bay inmates are rejoining al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations, coupled with the news that a terrorist convicted in civilian court is being released early, have many questioning the president’s wisdom.
Among those criticizing the move are politicians, former terrorist prosecutors, Iraq war veterans and veterans groups.
U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who supports closing Guantanamo, criticized Mr. Obama for saying he would close the prison without first developing a plan for what to do with the detainees.
Former Assistant United States Attorney Andy McCarthy, who led the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, wrote in the National Review Online that President Obama either will have to continue President Bush’s policy of treating the terrorism as a military issue or have resort to a law enforcement model.
“He can’t do both,” he said.
Gabe Ledeen is a Fellow with the Vets For Freedom Educational Institute. He served two tours in al-Anbar, Iraq, as an officer with a Marine infantry battalion. He wrote that the reality of what occurs at Guantanamo is different from the media reports that condemn it and the comments from politicians who criticize it.
Glen M. Gardner Jr., the national commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars, said in a statement that it was “not prudent” to close Guantanamo. He said Guantanamo “keeps our enemies off the battlefield.” Like Mr. Ledeen, he said it is “professionally run and respectful of human rights.”
Reinforcing these opinions are recent reports about terrorists leaving Guantanamo and resuming terrorist activities. The Pentagon has said that at least 62 released Guantanamo detainees have rejoined the battle against Americans.
One such example is Said Ali al-Shihri, a former Guantnamo Bay detainee who is now the deputy leader of Al-Qaida’s Yemeni branch. He is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September.
He was released from Guantanamo prison in 2007 after telling officials there that he wanted to return to his native Saudi Arabia and work in his family’s carpet business. When he returned to Saudi Arabia he participated in a rehabilitation program for former jihadists. After finishing the program he went to Yemen to rejoin al-Qaida.
Some are also pointing to the case of Khalid Dunham al-Jawary as a good example of why it might not be good policy to end the military commission trials of terrorists. He was convicted in a civilian criminal court trial in 1993 and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
But, he is being released after serving only 16 years of his 30-year prison sentence, highlighting the danger of suspending the military commission trials and transferring their subjects to civilian court jurisdictions.
Mr. al-Jawary was convicted of the failed attempt to bomb three targets in New York City in 1973. He has also been tied to bombing of a TWA flight in 1974 that killed 88 people and a terrorist attack in 1979.
“He’s a very dangerous man,” said Mike Finnegan, the former FBI counterterrorism agent who captured Mr. a-Jawary. “A very bad guy.”
Cmdr. Glenn Sulmasy, a law professor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and an authority on such issues, has recommended that the captured terrorists be tried in a “national security court,” which is a hybrid court that will combine characteristics of the civilian criminal courts and military courts.
“It is easy to say you want to close Guantanamo,” he said. “It is not so easy to determine what to with those who are there.”
Michael P. Tremoglie can be contacted at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
Revelations that released Guantanamo Bay inmates are rejoining al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations, coupled with the news that a terrorist convicted in civilian court is being released early, have many questioning the president’s wisdom.
Among those criticizing the move are politicians, former terrorist prosecutors, Iraq war veterans and veterans groups.
U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who supports closing Guantanamo, criticized Mr. Obama for saying he would close the prison without first developing a plan for what to do with the detainees.
Former Assistant United States Attorney Andy McCarthy, who led the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, wrote in the National Review Online that President Obama either will have to continue President Bush’s policy of treating the terrorism as a military issue or have resort to a law enforcement model.
“He can’t do both,” he said.
Gabe Ledeen is a Fellow with the Vets For Freedom Educational Institute. He served two tours in al-Anbar, Iraq, as an officer with a Marine infantry battalion. He wrote that the reality of what occurs at Guantanamo is different from the media reports that condemn it and the comments from politicians who criticize it.
Glen M. Gardner Jr., the national commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars, said in a statement that it was “not prudent” to close Guantanamo. He said Guantanamo “keeps our enemies off the battlefield.” Like Mr. Ledeen, he said it is “professionally run and respectful of human rights.”
Reinforcing these opinions are recent reports about terrorists leaving Guantanamo and resuming terrorist activities. The Pentagon has said that at least 62 released Guantanamo detainees have rejoined the battle against Americans.
One such example is Said Ali al-Shihri, a former Guantnamo Bay detainee who is now the deputy leader of Al-Qaida’s Yemeni branch. He is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September.
He was released from Guantanamo prison in 2007 after telling officials there that he wanted to return to his native Saudi Arabia and work in his family’s carpet business. When he returned to Saudi Arabia he participated in a rehabilitation program for former jihadists. After finishing the program he went to Yemen to rejoin al-Qaida.
Some are also pointing to the case of Khalid Dunham al-Jawary as a good example of why it might not be good policy to end the military commission trials of terrorists. He was convicted in a civilian criminal court trial in 1993 and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
But, he is being released after serving only 16 years of his 30-year prison sentence, highlighting the danger of suspending the military commission trials and transferring their subjects to civilian court jurisdictions.
Mr. al-Jawary was convicted of the failed attempt to bomb three targets in New York City in 1973. He has also been tied to bombing of a TWA flight in 1974 that killed 88 people and a terrorist attack in 1979.
“He’s a very dangerous man,” said Mike Finnegan, the former FBI counterterrorism agent who captured Mr. a-Jawary. “A very bad guy.”
Cmdr. Glenn Sulmasy, a law professor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and an authority on such issues, has recommended that the captured terrorists be tried in a “national security court,” which is a hybrid court that will combine characteristics of the civilian criminal courts and military courts.
“It is easy to say you want to close Guantanamo,” he said. “It is not so easy to determine what to with those who are there.”
Michael P. Tremoglie can be contacted at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
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