WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration and GOP senators are in a war of words over the percentage of terror suspects who have re-entered the fight after being released from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – a debate at the center of President Barack Obama’s stepped-up effort to close the prison.
Republicans who introduced legislation this week to stop the transfer of detainees to foreign countries say roughly 30 percent of those released have rejoined the fight. Administration officials accuse the Republicans of conflating numbers and say the real recidivism rate is not nearly that high. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the recidivism rate for released detainees because it’s based on U.S. intelligence.
The legislation being proposed in the Senate would bar transfers to Yemen for two years, suspend the transfer of high- or medium-risk terror suspects for the same period and repeal the law that has allowed the administration to transfer prisoners to foreign countries. The bill also would prohibit transfers of terror suspects to foreign countries if there has been a confirmed case where an individual was transferred from Guantanamo and engaged in any terrorist activity.
U.S. officials announced late Wednesday that five men from Yemen had been released and sent to Estonia and Oman for resettlement. The latest in a wave of releases reduced the population at Guantanamo to 122 from a peak of close to 800.
What both sides are saying: