The NYT describes how a former Guantanamo Bay detainee continued his career to become the deputy leader of al-Qaeda in Yemen upon his release.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order President Obama signed Thursday that the detention center be shut down within a year.
The militant, Said Ali al-Shihri, is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the United States Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September. He was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before resurfacing with Al Qaeda in Yemen.
His status was announced in an Internet statement by the militant group and was confirmed by an American counterterrorism official.
Said Ali al-Shihri is an example of what a certain percentage of those who will be released from Guantanamo will do. Not everyone to be sure, but a certain percentage are likely to do just that: get back to business. And since many European countries have refused to consider taking ex-Guantanamo prisoners, citing legal and procedural difficulties (see previous post) while simultaneously objecting to the repatriation of ex-detainees to countries which do not meet European human rights standards, sooner or later some will be released domestically or in whatever place international law allows. Inevitably some will kill again, maybe in a neighborhood next to yours.
Michael Scheuer described how the rules under the Clinton administration were crafted to ensure the US would never hold prisoners. This meant, as a practical matter, that terror suspects were always shipped offshore to a foreign government where they were either tortured, killed or both. Michael Scheuer described how bad that was, not only only from the moral point of view, but from the persective of US intelligence intelligence. If US intel wanted to know something they had to submit any questions to their foreign counterparts in writing, with the near certain knowledge it would be asked under torture, and ineffectively at that. Guantanamo was established to create an environment where terrorists might be aggressively interrogated in a manner falling short of the tortures applied by foreign governments. In the aftermath of 9/11 it was deemed important to fix what was broke. It’s easy to forget that Guantanamo was conceived as the solution to a Clinton era problem. But don’t worry the problem is back in full force. It’s worthwhile to recall the interview Scheuer gave describing the good old days under Clinton and what happened then.
Die Zeit: Who invented the “extraordinary renditions” system?
Michael Scheuer: President Clinton, his security counsellor Sandy Berger and his terrorism counsellor Richard Clarke instructed the CIA in autumn 1995 to destroy Al-Qaida. We asked the president what we should do with the arrested persons? Clinton replied that this was our problem. The CIA indicated that they are not jailors. It was then suggested we find any solution whatsoever to this problem. And this is what we did, we established a procedure and I myself was part of this working group. We concentrated on those members of Al-Qaida who were wanted by the police in their respective countries of origin or those who had already been convicted during their absence.
Die Zeit: How did you take the decision as to who should be arrested?
Michael Scheuer: We had to present quite a lot of accusatory material to a group of lawyers.
Die Zeit: Lawyers? Within the secret services?
Michael Scheuer: Yes, there are lawyers everywhere, within the CIA, the Ministry of Justice, the National Security Councill. We have established a list of targets under their surveillance. We then had to find the person and this in a country ready to cooperate with us. Additionally, the person’s country of origin had to be willing to take the person back. It is a very complicated procedure aimed at a very restricted target group. …
Die Zeit: Did the interrogations take place in the target country?
Michael Scheuer: We always submitted our questions in writing.
Die Zeit: The CIA never really took part in the interrogations?
Michael Scheuer: I have never heard of anything like that. The lawyers enjoined us from doing so.
Die Zeit: Did you not have doubts concerning the use of torture in these countries?
Michael Scheuer: No, my job was to protect American citizens by arresting members of Al-Qaida. The executive power of our government has to decide whether it considers this hypocritical or not. 90% of this operation was successful and only 10% could be considered as disastrous.
Die Zeit: Which part was the disaster?
Michael Scheuer: The fact that everything was made public. From now on the Europeans will diminish their assistance because they fear reading about it in the Washington Post. And then there is this troublemaker in the Senate, Senator John McCain, who virtually confessed, wrongly of course, that the CIA uses torture. And that is how the program will be destroyed.
Die Zeit: Why did you transfer the persons to their countries of origin instead of transferring them to the USA? Could you not have imprisoned them there much more safely?
Michael Scheuer: The crimes they had committed were always acts of violence. We did not have the slightest doubts that those people would be released by their countries. And president Clinton did not want them to be transferred to the USA.
Die Zeit: Why not?
Michael Scheuer: Our leaders did not wish us to treat them like prisoners of war but rather like common criminals. Additionally, they feared that they would never be able to assemble sufficient proof in order to defend the case before our law courts.
Closing Guantanamo and the court decisions granting enemy combatants access to the US legal system will jointly make it impossible for the US to detain prisoners again. Capturing a live prisoner is one of the most hazardous operations of war. It is far easier to drop a JDAM on him. But why would anyone take the trouble if prisoners cannot be interrogated, harshly to be sure, in an American jail, but in a manner far short of the Clinton era alternative. Instead they must be turned over to some brutal foreign official who will torment the prisoner and pointlessly anyway. Better to drop the JDAM. The result is that either no prisoners will be taken or those taken will wind up, as they did in the past, in the dungeons of the Mukhabarat. The irony is that closing Guantanamo Bay may result in the revival of the old Clinton-era practices, which were not only more brutal to the detainees, but brought us 9/11 to boot. One of the reasons the US has managed to prevent a second terror attack is intelligence gathered from the battlefield. That was then, this is now. Henceforth such intelligence must be gathered by foreigners so that the politicians can proclaim their hands clean. Theirs is the cleanliness of hypocrisy; of secret brutality in which everything is licit so long as it is one degree of liability removed. This is the new morality which serves not man, but the press release. The new kindness, behind which lurks the secret smile.
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30 Comments
1. 49erDweet:Powerful post, W. “The cleanliness of hypocrisy..”, eh? Nailed it!
Jan 23, 2009 - 12:30 am 2. Alex:Does anyone else see the emptying of Guano as bereft of reason? Call my senators and legislators all year? Can congress overturn that? Sorry my knowledge of civics sux.
Jan 23, 2009 - 12:36 am 3. Andrew:If you watch that video that Doug linked to you can watch O trying to explain that one of the executive orders he is signing is a “task Force” to determine what to do with those individuals who are “dangerous to the US but who can’t be tried because of issues with evidence”. It will be interesting to see what conclusion they come to. I assume they’ll come to the same conclusion as Bush. Luckily O has a year to try to figure out a way to delay actually closing G-mo…
Jan 23, 2009 - 1:08 am 4. wildernesscalling:Let the people eat from the table they have servered. Thank God I do not live near any high profile targets, the good news is being formed as we watch yet fewer even understand the play book, “0″ is already making GW look smarter and its only been two days….
Jan 23, 2009 - 1:28 am 5. Peter Boston:Day 1 – The Ode to Ba’al
On the First Day of Obama taxpayer money is sent overseas to make sure that people are paid for piercing baby skulls with scissors, and all practices that could create discomfort for Mohammedan psychopaths are swept away.
Not a bad days work.
Jan 23, 2009 - 1:58 am 6. jaed:Are we still taking prisoners at this point? My impression has been that that stopped (except where absolutely necessary) a couple three years ago.
Jan 23, 2009 - 2:27 am 7. Doug:Here is the complete performance of our new Commander in Chief
Jeeze
Obama asks lawyer Greg Craig (Elian Gonzales) about what he is signing at the begining, and again after about 7 and a half minutes in this video.
They have no idea what they will do, but much glib gibberish about Task Forces for this and that, and etc.
Jan 23, 2009 - 3:11 am 8. bob:#5
That really ticks me off. Why am I paying for abortions overseas? Not to mention here, of course.
Jan 23, 2009 - 3:14 am 9. Doug:Just imagine if Bush needed to ask his lawyer about what he was signing!
Jan 23, 2009 - 3:14 am 10. Doug:Ingraham contrasted Obama’s humanitarian concerns for the terrorists with his extreme views wrt abortion, and his plans to revoke the Mexico City Policy.
Free Ingraham Audio 49,000,000 unborn Americans…and counting.
22 weeks, The Movie
22 weeks. the movie in the making
CNSNews.com – Obama White House Calls for Repealing Defense of Marriage Act
Obama Officials Confirm He Will Fund Foreign Abortions
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Officials with the incoming administration of Barack Obama have confirmed that he will indeed overturn a pro-life policy of President Bush on his first day in office. Despite campaigning on the rhetoric of wanting to reduce abortions, Obama will make one of his first actions promoting them globally.
Meanwhile, some 77 members of Congress have signed onto a letter asking Obama to back down from doing so.
Jan 23, 2009 - 4:20 am 11. Doug:(The Ingraham Audio Starts with Obama telling Rick Warren such decisions are above his pay grade)
Jan 23, 2009 - 4:22 am 12. what is occupation:…until they’re not.
So what if they closed Gitmo and took one of those Super Tankers that haul oil and created a floating prison ship?
I bet you could weld some nice cages in the bottom of one of those…
Or better yet… Be like the rest of the world and after you “talk to them” on the battlefield just shoot them
Jan 23, 2009 - 5:45 am 13. Blindman:In the field of science when theory doesn’t fit the incoming data a new analysis is needed. This is when great insights are forced into being. This is when new theory is created. A better understanding is achieved when all the facts are in harmony.
So it is with law and political theory. Guantanamo was created to deal with the shadow world of non state terrorism. This terrorism actually evolved to avoid the strictures of nation state controls. No stretching os the current laws will square the circle here.
Te only answer is a new theory of law. The terrorists want us to say that we are not all equal.Rather the twist should be that those who use violence to destroy equality do not deserve equality in justice. What else is hell for?
Jan 23, 2009 - 5:56 am 14. Vinny Vidivici:As with other forms of naive progressivism, we’ll get the opposite of what’s intended by self-congratulatory displays of magnanimity toward an enemy which has done nothing to deserve them.
In our effort to extend the embrace of civilization to what are, effectively, war criminals, we are removing any incentive to refrain from directing violence at civilians or comitting other forms of dishonorable battlefield behavior.
No matter how vicious or appalling your atrocity, you’ll get three hots and a cot, along with a lawyer and fawning media coverage, all funded by your earnest but deluded enemy.
Just as subsidizing single motherhood has accelerated the disintegration of families at lower income levels, expect a continued descent into depravity on the part of civilization’s enemies, all made possible by our own misguided intentions. Go figure.
[I guess then we'll really be justified in blaming ourselves with 'root cause' self-flagellation.]
And yes, rendition is hypocrisy — our ‘leaders’ don’t have the guts to take responsibility for their own wet work.
Jan 23, 2009 - 7:15 am 15. steeple:“…and passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists…”
what a line
Jan 23, 2009 - 7:59 am 16. Anton:Saudi rehab of terrorists, I wonder how that works. Do they make them reveiw how it was they were captured so that they can avoid it in the future, more weapons training?
Come on, that is like rehabbing a Great White Shark so they won’y bite any more swimmers.
Jan 23, 2009 - 8:57 am 17. Lifeofthemind:Forgive the off topic but if anyone cares the bigoted old troll Cedarford is still slinking around PJM spreading lies. He has jumped all over Mr Wolf’s blog entry on Obama skipping the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball. C4 claimed there was no such event and ridiculed everyone who expressed concern. I just got the official statement from the American Legion which I posted in the comments at::
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/obama-snubs-medal-of-honor-recipients/#comment-190817
Jan 23, 2009 - 9:19 am 18. joe buzz:Yeah great…a “Saudi Rehab” program. What a wonderful idea. I guess we should start remote interrogation via drone…just before the hellfire arrives on target.
Jan 23, 2009 - 9:27 am 19. barry 0351:Ya gets what ya want then ya gets what ya deserve.
Jan 23, 2009 - 9:29 am 20. starling:Next 9/11 will be blood on the democrats hands “again”.
Anton said “Saudi rehab of terrorists, I wonder how that works.”
I wrote about this on my blog a few years back in a post entitled If You Can’t Beat Them, Enjoin Them
Jan 23, 2009 - 9:31 am 21. Staring In Disbelief:Al Queada prisoner recidivism? As predictable as the sunrise. In a democracy, it is the responsibility of the opposition party to keep the party in power honest by making them pay a political price for these kind of blunders, which will be magnified a hundredfold when Gitmo is closed and dozens more are released. Clearly, the Republicans are in tatters right now, but how hard would it be to get on the record that they oppose closing Gitmo? Then, as the inevitable recidivism makes the headlines (perhaps in a spectacularly tragic way), there can be an incremental political cost to the stupefyingly moronic act of closing Gitmo.
Messy, latecoming, with no tragedy-prevention value, but the best we can hope for given the current correlation of forces.
Jan 23, 2009 - 9:37 am 22. barry 0351:(what is occupation)
Jan 23, 2009 - 9:37 am 23. RWE:Sure thang Bubba then we can ask the Japanese how they did it with their “HELL SHIPS” full of Allied POW’s.
“What ya never heard about world war two’s hell ships?”
Look it up then decide if even though these are sub human do they deserve to live in such conditions.”
HINT: some American and British POW’s killed and drank the blood of the dying and others sank down in sickness to drown in vomit and feces.
The fortunate ones were killed by allied submarines and attack aircraft which put them out of their misery.
“HELL SHIPS”
I heard on the radio that of the 300 people that have been released from Gitmo, 60 are known to have gone back to “doin’ what comes natcherly” for terrorists.
Anybody else see any figures on that?
Jan 23, 2009 - 10:13 am 24. Anton:@19. starling: Neat peice, I agree, one wife and a daily grind are sure to replace the thrills and excitement of the terror racket.
An 8×8 cell is the best way to prevent recidivism. He leaves feet-first the day he needs an undertaker. Not that they deserve even that.
Jan 23, 2009 - 10:24 am 25. Roderick Reilly:Since Obama rehired so many Clintonistas, there should be some interesting Oval Office conversations about fighting terror post-Gitmo.
Jan 23, 2009 - 12:03 pm 26. NahnCee:There was a story in ArabNews a year or so ago that Americans were looking at the Saudi rehab program, thinking about trying it on Gitmo inhabitants. That surprised me, since I had been told by a friend that the program consisted of Saudi authorities telling their paroled jihadists to just cool their jets for a while until the time was better for them to start going after infidels again. And for Allah’s sake, quit trying to blow up Riyadh!
Jan 23, 2009 - 2:44 pm 27. Gitmo Will Close « Columbia Gorge Dispatch:[...] absence of this framework, the Belmont Club shows some of the potential problems. Again, hopefully our new President has plans in place to deal [...]
Jan 23, 2009 - 4:27 pm 28. joe buzz:RW, the key word in that phrase is “known”.
Jan 23, 2009 - 9:52 pm 29. 2@WwSsXx~`[tab] « The View from Alexandria:[...] community” on the left.
Jan 24, 2009 - 4:35 pm 30. Belmont Club » Reasonably sober:[...] liberals are even now beginning to realize that closing Guantanamo Bay may mean more, not less torture and less, not more intelligence.
Feb 3, 2009 - 1:57 pm