A Saudi man who was released from Guantanamo after spending six years inside the U.S. prison camp has joined Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen and is now the terror group's No. 2 in the country, according to a purported Internet statement from Al Qaeda.
The announcement, made this week on a Web site commonly used by militants, came as President Barack Obama ordered the detention facility closed within a year.
There really are bad people in the world. They don't play by the same rules as you and I play by. If we don't just kill them--and we should--we might consider at least keeping them away from decent people on the planet.
20 comments:
Just curious, what does Obama have in mind for those we capture that pose threats to our country? His orders call for Gitmo closure in a year regardless of whether or not we have somewhere to send them. And with Americans more worried about themselves and what is going to happen with the domestic issues at hand (financially, with housing, hell, even the wireless internet that is supposedly going to be made available) Obama will have too much to deal with to think about rehabilitation for these terrorists.
I'm sure they'll experience the hopenchange and won't be a threat anymore.
He's the Manchurian Candidate. He's programmed to respond to the will of Soros and Moveon.org. His moves have pretty much been along that agenda. They never bothered to speculate what would happen after all the confetti was vacuumed up.
Oooh! A purported Internet statement from Al Queda.. well, that is far more convincing than the actual evidence of people who have been cleared of crimes in their own countries, only to be kidnapped and taken to Guantanamo.
Of course, even if it WAS true, it is extremely likely that an innocent person who was kidnapped, and held in Guantanamo might very well have good reason to join organisations opposed to America.
Your BDS knows no bounds.
It's not a "purported" statement from al Qaeda. It was reported on all the US network news channels tonight.
It *is* true. You don't have to like it because it disputes your world view, but it *is* true. There are bad people in the world, and he's one of them.
ABC reported that this guy had been returned to Saudi Arabia where he successfully completed a "terrorist rehab" program--complete with crayons and finger painting! Apparently Guantanamo Bay was so bad that he needed to cleanse his aura by coloring.
Close Gitmo? I'm all for it -- provided the inmates are summarily executed as a part of the process. Or at bare minimum subjected to the sort of drum-head courts martial that Lincoln considered acceptable during the Civil War.
Oh Darren, you just don't understand.
If we reach out the hand of friendship and understanding, if build trust through a respect for other cultures and peoples, if the right people guide American policy, people who, via their understanding of nuance and shades of gray and who how to build bridges of mutual trust and, uh, understanding things will turn out just fine.
Isn't that what you meant Donal?
The original WTC bombers, the shoe bomber, and Massoui, the extra 9/11 hijacker, are currently serving life sentences in the Supermax here in Colorado. Thus, if we capture terrorists, we can incarcerate them for the rest of their lives. The fact that some were captured and let go reveals the incredibly flawed system of Guantanamo. Previous reports about "terrorists" freed and returning to fight Americans in Iraq have all been proved to be erroneous. This may be a similar situation.
Obviously, hundreds of people have been freed from the system because they were not guilty of crimes - such as the innocent ones who simply got on the wrong side of an Afghan warlord and were sold to the CIA. That is the problem of this entire system that showed a profound lack of faith in the America justice system to convict and incarcerate terrorists, though it had already done so.
"according to a purported Internet statement from Al Qaeda."
Nope.
Not a purported statement at all. Glad you cleared that up!
Darren: part of the problem is that we are dealing with many folks who have never had to make any serious decisions in their lives. They coast through life like the Boob in Yellow Submarine, quoting things that have no bearing and ignoring things that don't fit their paradigm. Just the fact I have used the word paradigm makes me feel dirty. But that's what they deal in-words. Have a terrorist hold a gun to their heads, I doubt they would be that charitable. It's like America prior to Pearl Harbor-thinking they didn't need to bother with the nasty old war in Europe. Perhaps this speaks to the erosion of principles in social studies that people don't know this. But as they say, there are no atheists in foxholes. I just hope we don't have to prove that theory out on our shores, again.
This is all smoke and mirrors on Obama's part however. Guantanamo will close, yes, but the residents are going to be moved to another camp.
I only know about it because they wanted to set up Guantanamo II on Camp Pendleton here in San Diego and our congresscritter threw a fit.
Obama gets to hype up how he closed the camps, and the media will likely follow the party line and fail to be interested in what actually happened.
Since I know Don at least will believe I'm making things up, here's a link to the local union rag's (itty bitty) story on it:
http://tinyurl.com/amvpt3
Congresscritter....I like it!
"Two ex-Guantanamo inmates appear in Al-Qaeda video"
http://tinyurl.com/bcprqj
There's your "previous reports that've all been proven erroneous".
I can see it now...
"hello mr. terrorist suspect, welcome to our local jail where we will hold you awaiting trial. Let me introduce you to your new cellmate, Wolfgang (please ignore the tattoos especially the '88' ones). Well look at the time, I'm due for a coffee break, I'll leave you two alone to get to know one another better."
Allen,
If you check most credible sites - like the ones that don't feature video of Bigfoot - you'll find that of the 61 ex-prisoners the Pentagon originally alleged returned to fighting, they now admit only 18 cases were valid, and even those cases involved dubious cases of "fighting." Thus, most have been proved erroneous, and the others can't actually be confirmed.
We should also acknowledge that every case is a prisoner who was freed by the Bush Administration. Obama hasn't freed anyone. And as Donalbain logically notes, most were freed after the military concluded there imprisonment was a mistake. However, after spending years - as many as seven - being held falsely by the US military, they may have had a reasonable grudge against the US. So, some - 18 or so - may have decided to join the fight, rather than "return" to it.
As I've noted, a reasonable trust in the constitutional system that has put numerous "actual terrorists" in our prison system for life would have prevented this situation in the first place. The Blind Sheik and Massouai certainly haven't returned to the battlefield because they were convicted by our courts. That's the best evidence.
I haven't seen evidence that the military concluded *anyone's* imprisonment was a mistake. There have been some, however, who were deemed no longer a threat--and maybe *that* was the mistake.
How can they be "no longer a threat"? If they had acted against the US, why would they suddenly NOT be a threat after being held in Gitmo?
The fact is that a large number of people held in that base were held despite there being NO evidence that they had engaged in any activities against the US, or against anyone. However, on their release it is hardly surprising that a large number of them might well hold something of a grudge against the USA, and the west in general.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=released+from+guantanamo+no+evidence&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a
Apparently they *are* still a threat. The mistake was caving into pressure and releasing them.
Or at bare minimum subjected to the sort of drum-head courts martial that Lincoln considered acceptable during the Civil War.
Yes, especially since Obama has tried to paint himself as the new Lincoln. What Would Lincoln Do? Hmmmm. Maybe Obama should reopen Camp Douglas?
We *should* release those poor, mistreated "detainees" at Club Gitmo!
We should escort them all down to the water's edge, point them towards Mecca, and say "start swimming!" Don't forget to add in "Good luck making it across the Atlantic!"
Then of course watch them from boats just to make sure they don't try to make it back to any other part of Cuba.
chicopanther
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