Obama announced last week the suspension of any further release of Yemeni Guantánamo Bay detainees after the attempted Christmas Day attack, shortly after a Pentagon spokesman stated that an increasing number of former detainees, an estimated 14 percent of the released detainees, engaged in or were suspected of having ties to terrorist groups. Following the failed attack the President has felt immense pressures to continue the indefinite detention of the 198 detainees that still remain in Guantánamo. The administration has also recently been dealing with extreme criticism from statements claiming that 74 ex-detainees rejoined terrorist groups or activities after being released from the Cuban prison. Obama, even more than before, has been deemed weak on national security.

In an interview by Democracy Now!, Andy Worthington expressed his belief that the hysteria surrounding the failed bomb plot is misplaced and ungrounded. He explains that the former detainees suspected of being connected with the recent attack were actually released by the Bush administration, after the intelligence service suggested that they not be released because they constituted a reasonable danger. He states,

So its part of a diplomatic deal that was done between the Bush administration and the Saudis. But it has nothing to do with the Yemeni prisoners in Guantánamo. It has nothing to do with Barack Obama, who’s been very careful about who he’s been releasing.

Worthington also comments on the Pentagon report that followed Obama speech and the New York Times article that reported that one in five of the released detainees “engaged in or is suspected of engaging in terrorism or military activity.” Worthington reveals that the media outlets covering the report were not given a single piece of evidence with names or information. He further explains that researchers who have dedicated much time into these investigations have come up with numbers that range between a dozen and twenty, significantly less than the seventy-four claimed by the Pentagon.

The Pentagon consistently produces these kind of information at useful times. I mean, it really makes me wonder who’s running the show here. Who in the Pentagon is making this kind of material available they day after Barack Obama backed down on releasing any more Yemenis, which is clearly part of a whole story that make it more and more difficult to close Guantanamo? Whose side are they on? Whose agenda is being set here?

Tomorrow marks the eighth anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo Bay. Nearly 200 men are still being held at the prison, most of whom have yet to be charged with a crime. Obama claims to remain committed to the closure the prison; however, he has set a new deadline for its closing after failing to meet his original deadline 12 days from now. The failed attack is proving to be a great obstacle in closing of the infamous prison but under false pretenses. We have come too far for a setback like this to completely destroy what civil libertarians have worked so hard for. There is no question that the release and transfer of suspected terrorists must be handled carefully and reasonably, but America must deal with the issue—not suspend or delay it further.

Tags: Barack Obama, detention, Guantanamo Bay, habeas corpus

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 10th, 2010 at 7:22 pm and is filed under Current Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.