Saturday
Jan242009
Obama, the Pentagon, and the "Willy-Nilly" Battle Over Guantanamo Bay
Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 8:11
Morning update (2:55 a.m. Washington time): Yesterday we spent some time on the dramatic New York Times story on the "emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee [Said Ali al-Shihri] as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch", noting that it appeared to be part of an effort by some military and Pentagon officials to undermine President Obama's plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.
Today CNN has returned to an earlier Pentagon report that "18 former detainees are confirmed to have participated in attacks, and 43 are suspected to have been involved in attacks". Peter Bergen, who has written extensively on Al Qa'eda, takes on the report:
1. "Of the 18 people the Pentagon says are confirmed to have engaged in terrorism, only a handful of names have been released."
2. Even if all 18 "confirmed" returned to association with illegal organisations, that is a recidivism rate of 4 percent, comparred with 65 percent for offenders released from US prisons.
3. Some Guantanamo detainees were not terrorists or involved with the Taliban but "were singled out by vengeful villagers who told U.S. authorities they were al Qaeda".
The Pentagon's response to a request for details that would verify their report? The classic intelligence response that "we could tell you but then we would have to shoot you". A spokesman snapped, ""We don't make these figures up -- they're not done willy-nilly."
Today CNN has returned to an earlier Pentagon report that "18 former detainees are confirmed to have participated in attacks, and 43 are suspected to have been involved in attacks". Peter Bergen, who has written extensively on Al Qa'eda, takes on the report:
1. "Of the 18 people the Pentagon says are confirmed to have engaged in terrorism, only a handful of names have been released."
2. Even if all 18 "confirmed" returned to association with illegal organisations, that is a recidivism rate of 4 percent, comparred with 65 percent for offenders released from US prisons.
3. Some Guantanamo detainees were not terrorists or involved with the Taliban but "were singled out by vengeful villagers who told U.S. authorities they were al Qaeda".
The Pentagon's response to a request for details that would verify their report? The classic intelligence response that "we could tell you but then we would have to shoot you". A spokesman snapped, ""We don't make these figures up -- they're not done willy-nilly."