Guantanamo: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Obama Administration Will ‘Not Take Anything Off The Table’ In Zeal To Bring Terrorists Who ‘Will Seek To Reengage In Terrorist … Activities’ To America

SEN. KELLY AYOTTE (R-NH): “When the administration transfers a Guantanamo detainee who was formerly assessed as a high risk for reengagement in terrorism, the onus is on the administration to explain openly to the American people what has changed. A failure to do so suggests the administration is more interested in emptying Guantanamo so that it can close it, rather than protecting the national security interests of the United States and the lives of Americans...” (Sen. Ayotte, Press Release, 12/20/14)

Obama Administration: ‘We’re Going To Die Trying’ To Close Gitmo

“…President Obama is preparing to unveil a plan to shutter the facility and move some of the terrorism suspects held there to U.S. soil.” (“Obama To Launch New Effort To Close Guantanamo Bay Prison In Cuba,” Los Angeles Times, 11/4/15)

“[Lisa] Monaco has laid out the plan's key elements. It would … move foreign terrorism suspects who cannot be prosecuted but are deemed too dangerous to release to a U.S.-based facility, an option that is now barred by law.” (“Obama's Counterterrorism Chief Takes Fresh Stab At Closing Guantanamo,” Reuters, 11/4/15)

“The plan – expected to surface as early as this week – will propose one or more prisons from a working list that includes facilities in Kansas, Colorado and South Carolina.” (“Obama To Launch New Effort To Close Guantanamo Bay Prison In Cuba,” Los Angeles Times, 11/4/15)

“…plan also calls for moving at least five dozen higher-level detainees to a prison on domestic soil. But statute bars that move, and the Republican-controlled Congress has shown little interest in revoking it.” (“Guantánamo Is Leaving Obama With Choices, Neither of Them Simple,” The New York Times, 10/31/15)

“…it might now be a criminal violation to move a detainee to the mainland on a military plane.” (“Guantánamo Is Leaving Obama With Choices, Neither of Them Simple,” The New York Times, 10/31/15)

SUSAN RICE: National Security Adviser: ‘I can tell you we’re going to die trying’ “‘I can’t say with certainty that we’re 100 percent going to get there, but I can tell you we’re going to die trying,’ said Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, in an interview.” (“Obama's Counterterrorism Chief Takes Fresh Stab At Closing Guantanamo,” Reuters, 11/4/15)

JOSH EARNEST, White House Press Secretary: ‘At this point, I would not take anything off the table’ “White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, asked about the possibility that President Barack Obama could take unilateral moves to transfer detainees to the United States, said all options remain in play. ‘At this point, I would not take anything off the table in terms of the President doing everything that he can to achieve this critically important national security objective,’ Earnest said.” (“WH: Executive Action Possible On Closing Gitmo,” CNN, 11/4/15)

“If Obama can’t persuade Congress to go along with his plan, aides say, he hasn’t ruled out exercising his administrative powers and act unilaterally, especially if he believes the continued operation of Guantanamo threatens national security.” (“Obama To Launch New Effort To Close Guantanamo Bay Prison In Cuba,” Los Angeles Times, 11/4/15)

“Of the roughly 780 people who have been detained at the United States military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, 659 have been transferred and 112 remain.” (“The Guantanamo Docket,” The New York Times, Accessed 11/5/15)

‘30 Percent Of The … Detainees Transferred Or Released, Are Now Either Confirmed Or Suspected Of Reengaging’ In Terrorist Activities

“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has released its latest statistics on the number of former Guantanamo detainees who are either confirmed or suspected of returning to the fight. … The ODNI says that a total of 196 ex-Gitmo detainees, or 30 percent of the 653 total detainees transferred or released, are now either confirmed or suspected of reengaging. The number of confirmed recidivists (117) outnumbers those on the suspected list (79). The figures are current as of July 15, 2015.” (“More Than 100 Ex-Gitmo Recidivists At Large,” The Weekly Standard, 9/4/15)

ODNI: “Reengagement of Former Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) Detainees as of 15 July 2015: …Confirmed of Reengaging: 117 of 653 (17.9%) …Suspected of Reengaging: 79 of 653 (12.1%).” (Summary Of The Reengagement Of Detainees Formerly Held At Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,” Office Of The Director Of National Intelligence, 9/15)

ODNI: “Based on trends identified during the past eleven years, we assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred.” (Summary Of The Reengagement Of Detainees Formerly Held At Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,” Office Of The Director Of National Intelligence, 9/15)

ODNI: “We assess that some GTMO detainees transferred in the future also will communicate with other former GTMO detainees and persons in terrorist organizations.” (Summary Of The Reengagement Of Detainees Formerly Held At Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,” Office Of The Director Of National Intelligence, 9/15)

Senate Dems: ‘We Don't Want Them Around The United States’

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “If people are -- if terrorists were released in the United States, part of what we don't want is them [to] be put in prisons in the United States. We don't want them around the United States.” (Sen. Reid, Press Briefing, 5/19/09)

SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D-MD): “What would this $30 million do, and is this laying the groundwork for the dumping of terrorists into state and federal prisons?” (Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee On Commerce, Justice, And Science, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 5/7/09)

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SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Related Issues: Guantanamo Detention Facility, National Security, War on Terror

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