Closing Gitmo: There’s No Room for Error
If Obama is not careful, the next generation of terrorists could be led by former Gitmo prisoners.
One of President Obama’s first decisions upon taking office was to issue an executive order mandating the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison where suspected terrorists are being held. As a lightning rod for anti-American propagandists and those genuinely concerned about civil liberties, the closure of the camp is an admirable objective, but should it be done hastily and without adequate planning, a disaster will be forthcoming.
The next generation of terrorists and radical Islamists may be led by former Gitmo prisoners, as the rate of recidivism of one in seven indicates. Already, several terrorists that have quickly climbed through the ranks of the extremist elite are known to have been former Gitmo residents, now supplied with the knowledge of the U.S. legal and interrogation processes that such experience provides.
If you’re looking for proof that the terrorists have perfected the practice of taqiyya, the calculated manipulation of an enemy, look no further than Mullah Zakir. Once a top commander for Taliban forces, he was captured in 2001 and released in 2007. Today, he is a high-level enemy official, a commander of Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan believed to have helped manage the relationship between the Afghani and Pakistani Taliban.
Keenly aware of the West’s inclination to give people the benefit of the doubt, he followed a carefully written script before his release, speaking supportively of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan because “they are building my country.” He claimed he was forced into being a commander for the Taliban, saying that “I have never been America’s enemy and I never intend to be.”
One of the options that has been used by the Bush administration and will be used by the Obama administration as it decides what to do with the Gitmo prisoners is sending them to the “rehabilitation program” of Saudi Arabia. While many officials seem to believe this program has been successful, the cost of when it fails will be exceedingly high.
At the same time, we need to remember that a lot of the information about the “success” of the program comes from the Saudis themselves, who have a vested interest in trying to portray themselves as a full-fledged partner in the war on terror. While Saudi officials bragged that not a single graduate of their “rehabilitation” program had relapsed, it was later found out that this was untrue, when the Saudis released a list of their most-wanted terrorists. The biographies of some of the terrorists revealed that several had been former Gitmo prisoners and had gone through their program, a fact the Saudis likely knew but failed to disclose as they boasted about their success. It’s possible that the Saudis suddenly found out about their former patients’ relapse shortly before the most-wanted terrorist list was put together, but based on the Saudis’ past history of deception, we should be skeptical.
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Ryan Mauro is the founder of WorldThreats.com and the director of intelligence at the Asymmetrical Warfare and Intelligence Center (AWIC). He’s also the national security researcher for the Christian Action Network and a published author. He can be contacted at TDCAnalyst@aol.com.
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27 Comments
1. grampa guy:It gets demoralizing to watch writer after writer grant the Left their false premises as they aid and abet our enemies. Ryan, WHEREVER and HOWEVER we deal with enemy combatants the Left will help the Islamists find fault with our methods. Period. From Bill Ayers to the Cole bombing, they never had Gitmo as a prop, although they did have Attica, or whatever the cause of the day was. Either we will win the war, or THEY will. Period. “Tool of recruitment” my red butt. The sun rising in the morning is all the tool they need. Gitmo is, and will remain, the best option for the United States. Fear of calling-out the Left, simply because of their dominance of the culture, is tantamount to fighting with your tongue tied behind your back. I admire your work, but some of it hasn’t begun yet. Might I suggest Jamie Glazov’s new book, UNITED IN HATE, as a starting point? Then, when considering granting the Left another of their post-modern, cultural Marxist premises, a review of the advice your dad probably gave you about bullies. I know you are young enough to have never lived in a pre-PC America, but I assure you it did exist. Getting back there is the key to getting anywhere from here. Leaving out the bows to Leftist idiocy in your essays will allow more words for making your normally solid cases. Thanks for your ear.
Jun 3, 2009 - 4:41 am 2. "progressive"watch:Good article. “The closure of the camp is an admirable objective…” I disagree. It is dumb*ssed ,and dumb*ssed pandering.
Everybody else seems to thnk Obama is blundering along. I think he is following a plan.
Jun 3, 2009 - 5:55 am 3. Lynn:There’s no room for error because the first error to close it down within a year of his presidency was the biggest one, leaving room for little else. With his incurious mind President Obama made a promise to his base assuming that any decision made by the Bush Administration was a wrong and any action taken by the United States is at it’s core flawed. The prisoners can’t be the enemy because ‘we’ are the enemy.
They remind me of the reporter who complained that the Military Headquarters for the Iraq War was in an isolated part of Qatar, remote and inaccessible, where an ant crossing the sand would be spotted miles away.
I don’t know, but I despair of reason winning the day with this Administration.
Jun 3, 2009 - 6:43 am 4. Sebastian Shaw:Closing Gitmo is only for political reasons created by the Left to demonize President George W. Bush; however, since Senator Obama has become President, he is left in a pickle. I believe he wants the base closed because he lives in a bubble not based in the real world. Obama has a 9/10 mentality in treating terrorists as common US criminals granted by our Constitution. This fallacy gives plenty to the Democrats interests group, the Trial Lawyers, but it also opens the United States to be attacked again.
Closing Gitmo is one of the worst ideas & President Obama is just now discovering this fact given his shallow nature.
Jun 3, 2009 - 6:56 am 5. Bohemond:Closing Gitmo in two easy steps:
1) Give every prisoner ten feet of chain and a one-way boat ride.
2) Future terrorist captives will not be brought to Gitmo- they will simply disappear.
Jun 3, 2009 - 7:04 am 6. wrg:Follow the Geneva Convention and just shoot them.
Jun 3, 2009 - 7:38 am 7. Houdini:Hey you know when they were flying some more of these detainees across the Atlantic they tried to escape and fell out of the rear end on the aircraft at about 35,000 feet oh about at the halfway point we will be gathering a search party sometime next week after a thorough investigation as to how they managed to open that rear hatch somewhere along the plane ride to Gitmo. At this point in time we think it is unlikely there are any survivors since they were all shackled together which would make it real hard to swim. Oops we goofed up but will do better on the next shipment.
Jun 3, 2009 - 7:48 am 8. fear Obama:With our Muslim president going around the world apoligizing- Iowahawk has a few words……………..
Read more at Iowahawk
Jun 3, 2009 - 7:55 am 9. Ms. Attitude:How come every picture of these terrorists gives me the heebee jeebees….They look dirty! My father worked in Saudi Arabia for a few years and we had Saudi guests. They didn’t look like these guys. Is it fashionable for the terrrorists to look dirty and stinky? Is that their trademark? eeewwww
Jun 3, 2009 - 8:22 am 10. blotto:I am so sick of this debate. When and only when we conservatives realize that the left does not care about Americans or America, we can take back our nation. The left can say or do anything because they use the very Constitution they hate against America as their defense.
The left wants terrorists released or trnasferred to prisons here in America because they hate America. And they know if something happens there is no consequence to them. They suffer nothing. So if say a group of terrorists are transferred to a prison in Indiana and some months later the warden’s family is held hostage or murdered for the release of the terrorists, the left will suffer no recriminations. They know if terrorists are released and re-join jihad, and kill Americans, they will still feel good about themselves.
This whole debate about waterboarding and what to do with terrorists is moot because anyone who puts the lives of murders above the lives of Americans is obviously sick so rational debate is useless. What greater value is there than protecting Americans?
Jun 3, 2009 - 8:23 am 11. waltc:This whole debate just encourages a “take no prisoners” style of combat.
Not a bad idea except for the loss of intelligence. Course after we give them all of our interrogation techniques, we won’t get anything any way.
Jun 3, 2009 - 9:24 am 12. anton:Now that Michael Moore’s illegal housekeepers have been deported maybe we can give him a dozen or so of these guys……if they get away and do something bad we can hold him responsible. If that works maybe we can give one each to all those whiny Libs that want them released, starting with the Obaminator himself, maybe he and Michelle need a babysitter or gardener.
Jun 3, 2009 - 11:31 am 13. Linda Rivera:U.S. LUXURY RESORT JAIL For Terrorists
Fighting terror?
http://WWW.WORLDNETDAILY.COM
Warning: Gitmo still holds ‘throat-slitting’ inmates
December 23, 2008
By Bob Unruh
…detainees being held in modern facilities “filled with amenities that most American people could only dream of.”
…There also are three members of the medical profession, doctors and nurses, for each inmate…
“They watch movies weekly, eat a menu of six different diets from which they choose…
…the inmates “get prayer rugs, prayer caps, prayer beads and brand new Qurans. The guards may never touch the Qurans. Only a Muslim may deliver the books to the terrorists. If the terrorists are especially good, they get a fancier prayer rug.”
Inmates also are given art classes, taught English and have games, including soccer, chess, checkers and exercise machines.
…inmates at Gitmo on average gain 15 pounds. “The United States has even had to buy them bigger pants because they got so fat on their Gitmo meals,”
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=84365
A powerful recruiting tool for Islamic terrorist organizations-are potential terrorist recruits informed of the rewards for terror via America’s luxury resort jail?
Non-Muslim criminals in Illinois jails are having THEIR health destroyed:
http://WWW.WORLDNETDAILY.COM
Obama asked to save prisoners from soy ‘torture’
November 18, 2008
By Bob Unruh
…Obama, Morell wrote, should “focus on a grave injustice taking place in the prisons of your home state, namely, a prison diet that is slowly killing the inmates assigned to the Illinois Department of Corrections.”This is a diet based largely on soy protein powder and soy flour.
…”The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists 288 studies on its database showing the toxicity of soy. Numerous studies show that soy consumption leads to nutrient deficiencies, digestive disorders, endocrine disruption and thyroid problems,” the letter said.
…the inmates in Illinois are fed up to 100 grams per day – beef and chicken by-product mixtures containing 60-70 percent soy, fake soy meats and cheese, “even soy added to baked goods,” the letter said.
Morell said her office has heard from “dozens” of Illinois inmates pleading for help.
“Almost all suffer from serious digestive disorders, such as diarrhea or painful constipation, vomiting, irritable bowel syndrome and sharp pains,” she said. “… One reason for these problems is the high oxalic acid content of soy – no food is higher in oxalic acid than soy protein isolate, which can contain … at least six times higher than the amount found in typical diets.”
Oxalic acid, the letter said, is associated with kidney stones, can disrupt heart functions, replace bone marrow cells and impair nerve functions.
“When the prisoners seek medical treatment, they are told that soy does not cause the problems they are experiencing. Even those who vomit or pass out immediately after eating soy cannot get an order for a soy-free diet…
“It constitutes a medical experiment and amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and must be stopped,” she wrote.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=81420
Would things change drastically if the prisoners CONVERTED to ISLAM, the favorite religion of Western leaders?
In Islam, ALL countries that are not Muslim are regarded as the House of War to be conquered for Islam – every human subjugated under cruel Islamic sharia law where defenseless non-Muslims have no human rights
In London, Sheikh Bakri: “We will use your democracy to destroy your democracy.”
Jun 3, 2009 - 12:15 pm 14. The Shadow:The postings of fear demonstrate a seriously deranged mind
Jun 3, 2009 - 1:31 pm 15. wrg:Spoken like a true troll.
Jun 3, 2009 - 1:48 pm 16. Ms. Attitude:13. Linda Rivera:
I think they have internet, too…i.e.: 14. The Shadow.
Jun 3, 2009 - 3:13 pm 17. wadosy:you got all these guys penned up at gitmo on trumped-up charges… it’s likely some of them might go a little haywire —not to mention the waterboarding… so it’s understandable why some of them might go for revenge if they’re ever released.
…but they just dont understand, do they?
…we’re the empire, and sometimes we have to create our own reality, and if we have to torture confessions out of people for crimes we committed, crimes we had to commit to create a reality that justifies actions necessary to preserve our empire, well, so be it.
so we terrorize ourselves, blame that terror on “enemies” that have the oil and land we want, and torture innocent people until they confess to committing the terror we committed on ourselves… pretty simple.
then, when we quit terrorizing ourselves, we can point to the people we tortured and say… “hey! torture works! we havent had a terrorist attack on america for years, now!”
such a deal.
meanwhile, the next new “new pearl harbor” is in the works, and the cold civil war rages between israeli americans like carolone glick who desperately need a new “new pearl harbor” (she’s establishing a legend of north korean nukes going to iran), and honest american enforcement people, most of whom have probably understood (from 9/11 on) what’s really happening.
but the new “new pearl harbor” ought to be a pretty straightforward operation… all the critical pieces are still in play, and it shouldnt be much of a task to waterboard some unfortunate and innocent iranians into confessing they did the new “new pearl harbor”.
you might have to go through a bunch of people before you can come up with a handful who can be convincing in a show trial as they confess to a crime they didnt commit, and it would be wise to keep those people locked up until they die…
if they ever get out, they’ll be nothing but trouble for the empire.
Jun 3, 2009 - 11:47 pm 18. wadosy:of course, we could always forget the whole PNAC project, quit torturing and bombing people, quit creating more terrorists than we kill, bring the troops home, and buy the oil, like the chinese are doing…
but that wouldnt be much good for israel, would it?
Jun 3, 2009 - 11:54 pm 19. Lynn:Yea, nasty Americans sending $19 dollars overseas for every $50 dollars we buy in gas.
Yea, nasty Israel surrounded by enemies whose Allah tells them their greatest glory will be when they wipe the Jewish People off the face of the earth.
Jun 4, 2009 - 4:41 am 20. wadosy:israeli america probly oughta start bombing and torturing deathwish christians, too, huh?
…seeing as how, in the deathwish christian end times, only 144,000 jews will survive, and only after converting to christianity.
Jun 4, 2009 - 8:31 am 21. Lynn:Seems like there is a lot of people who want to do Allah’s work for him, huh? wipe the Jewish People off the face of the earth, that is. I’m sure your Mohammad and Allah wouldn’t feel too bad either if some Christians were thrown in too, right?
Just doin Allah’s work and a ticket for admission to paradise.
Jun 4, 2009 - 1:02 pm 22. Ms. Attitude:20. wadosy: There were only 3 terrorist were waterboarded. One turned over a lot of information. The men in Gitmo don’t have it so bad.
By Bob Unruh
…detainees being held in modern facilities “filled with amenities that most American people could only dream of.”
…There also are three members of the medical profession, doctors and nurses, for each inmate…
“They watch movies weekly, eat a menu of six different diets from which they choose…
…the inmates “get prayer rugs, prayer caps, prayer beads and brand new Qurans. The guards may never touch the Qurans. Only a Muslim may deliver the books to the terrorists. If the terrorists are especially good, they get a fancier prayer rug.”
Jun 4, 2009 - 2:07 pm 23. wadosy:“Just doin Allah’s work and a ticket for admission to paradise.”
as if christians have never given god’s will a little push, now and then.
“There were only 3 terrorist were waterboarded”
and america’s just a little pregnant.
Jun 4, 2009 - 3:12 pm 24. Lynn:Yea, too bad Americans push back once in a while instead of letting the faithful followers of Allah and Mohammad have their way and wipe the Jewish People off the face of the earth, and any other people of the Book who stand in their way.
Yea, we’re just a little like that. We push back once in a while.
Jun 5, 2009 - 5:20 am 25. Paul -Indiana:Recently, Dear Leader asked the Australians to take some of the prisoners. I hope they tell him where he can hide those prisoners. Leave Gitmo open and full of terrorists.
Jun 5, 2009 - 1:18 pm 26. no name:shoot them in the head and then feed them to the pigs, but before doing so, let them know that the last living thing they will ever come in contact with will be a pigs butt!
Jun 5, 2009 - 7:50 pm 27. no name:swinegating: the process of moving from dimension to another by way of a pigs butt. humm, maybe a movie in the making?
Jun 8, 2009 - 3:11 pm