http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/gitmo/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 02:54:01 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418760/posts KANEOHE, Hawaii — The attempted bombing of an American passenger plane on Christmas Day could greatly complicate President Obama’s efforts to close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as lawmakers in both parties call on the administration to rethink its approach. The task of determining what to do with the detainees held at Guantánamo has already proved so daunting that Mr. Obama is poised to miss his self-imposed one-year deadline for shuttering the prison by Jan. 22. But evidence that Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen was behind last week’s failed plane attack will make closing the center even harder... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418760/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 02:54:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418586/posts SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – As a prisoner at Guantanamo, Said Ali al-Shihri said he wanted freedom so he could go home to Saudi Arabia and work at his family's furniture store. Instead, al-Shihri, who was released in 2007 under the Bush administration, is now deputy leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a group that has claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day attempted bomb attack on a Detroit-bound airliner. His potential involvement in the terrorist plot has raised new opposition to releasing Guantanamo Bay inmates, complicating President Barack Obama's pledge to close the military prison in Cuba. It also... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418586/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:38:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417732/posts A growing number of former Guantanamo Bay detainees are said to be returning to terrorism in the Middle East and elsewhere.  The Pentagon most recently released a report in May showing that one in seven former detainees either returned, or is suspected of returning, to terrorist activity. At least two of them have taken leading roles in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group that has claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day.  The Obama administration says it will proceed with caution in transferring any more detainees out of Guantanamo Bay but... FOXNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417732/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:06:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417704/posts The senior Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee wants no more Guantanamo Bay detainees released to Yemen in the wake of a Christmas Day terrorist attack hatched in that country. “Guantanamo detainees should not be released to Yemen at this time,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “It is too unstable.” Feinstein’s warning comes just nine days after the Department of Justice announced the most recent transfer of 12 detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan, Yemen and Somaliland. Six of the 12 were transferred to the government of Yemen. The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417704/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:37:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417577/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) — Three senior US senators on Tuesday called on President Barack Obama to stop transferring Guantanamo detainees to Yemen until Sanaa can guarantee that they will not return to the battlefield. Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Joseph Lieberman -- the first two Republicans and the third a political independent -- said that such transfers are "highly unwise and ill-considered." Close to half of the 198 "war on terror" detainees still at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- which Obama has vowed to close -- are from Yemen. The senators wrote to express their "deep concern"... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417577/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:45:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417471/posts The Detroit bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was linked to a Muslim extremist under surveillance by MI5 while he was living in Britain, it has emerged. The connection was discovered after record checks by MI5 following the attempted suicide bombing on Christmas Day by Abdulmutallab on a US-bound plane. It is feared he had been involved with other extremists while he was a student at University College, London between 2005 and 2008. It has also emerged that the bomber wrote of his desire for Muslims to “rule the whole world” by carrying out a “great jihad” in internet postings four years... UK Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417471/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:25:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417455/posts Liberals are being forced to deal with the cognitive dissonance conjured by the inconvenient truth that Mr. Bush freed al-Shiri from detention and Mr. Obama hunted him down and killed him. We support the targeted killing program because it is the only aspect of Mr. Obama's national security strategy that is reaping concrete benefits. The "blame Bush" mantra, however, is simply a way for Mr. Obama's left-wing supporters to avoid asking hard questions about the future of terrorist detainees. Meanwhile, potential reinforcements continue to flow to the region under the president's detainee-release program. On Dec. 20, six Yemenis arrived in... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417455/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 06:07:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2417451/posts The failed Christmas day terrorist attack on Northwest Flight 253 has focused much attention on Yemen. In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Sen Joe Lieberman warned that Yemen is likely to become the site of the next American war unless the government takes preventive measures to stop the spread of al-Qaeda. According to Lieberman, a government official in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a told him, "Iraq was yesterday's war, Afghanistan is today's war. If we don't act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow's war." We have since found out that the Fort Hood shooting as well as the Christmas day... The Lid/The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2417451/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:49:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417342/posts Keying off an article in the UK Times Online about Northwest Airlines flight 253 bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab organizing an antiwar seminar called "War on Terror Week", I did some quick research before the links get scrubbed.From the Times:According to isocnews.com, an online magazine for Muslim students, War on Terror Week at University College London was one of the events of the year in 2007. There was a slick video advertisement for the event, an eye-catching poster and packed lecture theatres for five days of discussions about Guantánamo Bay, allegations of torture and the subject of “Jihad v Terrorism”. The... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417342/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:44:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417308/posts Security: Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the attempted destruction of Flight 253 were released from Guantanamo two years ago. The case for indefinite detention has been made once again, and not in Illinois. Sometimes America's chickens do come home to roost. In a statement released Monday, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which counts among its leadership two former Guantanamo detainees, claimed responsibility for the attempted destruction of Northwest Airlines Flight 253. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the crotch bomber, told FBI agents he was trained for his Christmas Day mission in Yemen by top leaders of the group who provided... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417308/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:44:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417043/posts Less than two weeks ago, the Obama administration repatriated to Yemen six detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. It was a test. About 90 of the 200 or so remaining Gitmo detainees are Yemenis. The president would like to move toward fulfilling his promise to close Gitmo, and thus to appease the antiwar Left, by transferring most of those Yemeni jihadists back home. ... ABC News reported on Monday that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — a merger of the network’s formidable hubs in Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia — has claimed responsibility for the attack. Hailing Mutallab as a “hero”... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417043/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:39:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416954/posts The number of detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay sank to under 200 this weekend with the transfer of a dozen former prisoners in the last day to Yemen, Afghanistan, and Somaliland. One hundred ninety eight detainees remain at Guantanamo. Since President Obama took office, 42 detainees have been transferred to other countries, and one detainee -- Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani -- was transferred to New York City for trial. Over the weekend six Yemeni detainees, Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mari, Farouq Ali Ahmed,Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi, Muhammaed Yasir Ahmed Taher, Fayad Yahya Ahmed al Rami and Riyad Atiq Ali Abdu al... abc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416954/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:22:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416971/posts Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the US from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Northwest bombing in a Monday statement that vowed more attacks on Americans. American officials agreed to send the two terrorists from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an "art therapy rehabilitation program" and were set free, according to US and Saudi officials. Guantanamo prisoner #333, Muhamad Attik al-Harbi, and prisoner... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416971/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:46:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416822/posts A Yemeni al Qaeda faction -- whose masterminds had been released from Guantanimo Bay -- claimed responsibility yesterday for orchestrating the bungled Christmas Day terror attack aboard a Detroit-bound jet. Said Ali al Shihri and Muhammad al Awfi were captured in Afghanistan in late 2001, ABC News reported. They were freed from Gitmo in November 2007 and promptly took up arms again against the United States after completing a bizarre "art-rehabilitation therapy" program in Saudi Arabia as a condition of their release. "The so-called rehabilitation programs are a joke," a US diplomat told ABC. NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416822/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:23:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416704/posts Gitmo recidivism comes back to bite us directly. Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Northwest bombing in a Monday statement that vowed more attacks on Americans. American officials agreed to send the two terrorists from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an "art therapy rehabilitation program" and were set free, according to U.S. and Saudi officials.... JihadWatch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416704/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:59:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415490/posts SNIPPET: "Discussion: I first observed discussion of binary explosives on the al-Firdaws forum in January of 2007. In light of recent events I will post here my archive:" SNIPPET: "Implementation: On Christmas Day, 2009, Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab boards a flight in Amsterdam, bound for Detroit, and on final descent he attempts to set off what was most likely a binary explosive. Thank goodness he either screwed up or had bad instructions, because the chemicals he was working with were evidently quite good." INTERNET HAGANAH.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415490/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:37:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416643/posts Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. American officials agreed to send the two terrorists to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an "art therapy rehabilitation program" and were set free, according to U.S. and Saudi officials. Gee, who would have expected "art therapy" to fail on terrorists? Wahington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416643/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:24:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416526/posts Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. American officials agreed to send the two terrorists to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an "art therapy rehabilitation program" and were set free, according to U.S. and Saudi officials. Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416526/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:45:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2416569/posts Finally something that Barak Obama can legitimately blame on George Bush. ABC is reporting that two of the four leaders who planned the attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253 over Detroit were former residents of the Guantanamo Bay prison. They were released in November of 2007, into the hands of Saudi Arabia who claimed the terrorists could be cured via art therapy (I swear I am not making this up). The Video at the end of this post is a 60 Minutes report on the Saudi rehabilitation program which includes "Art Therapy:" ABC News/60 Minutes/the Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2416569/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:08:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2416499/posts Sounds like an even worse idea than it did the first time we heard it: The US has transferred 12 detainees from its Guantanamo Bay prison camp to Afghanistan, Yemen and the Somaliland region, the Justice Department says. Six Yemenis, four Afghans and two Somali detainees were sent to their homelands over the weekend, it said. President Barack Obama acknowledged in November that he would miss his January deadline to close down the camp. The US plans to send 116 detainees to their home countries or to third countries willing to accept them. Security fears “These transfers were carried out... www.joytiz.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2416499/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:47:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416493/posts <p>Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, ABC News is reporting, quoting American officials and citing Department of Defense documents.</p> Chicago Breaking News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416493/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:33:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416157/posts Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) said last week he was “shocked” to hear a senior Department of Defense official agree with him that the administration’s plan to move detainees of Guantanamo Bay to Thomson, Ill., would pose an increased security risk. At a press conference in the House of Representatives, Manzullo said the official “agreed with me there would be an increased security risk to northwest Illinois, but he had no way of estimating the extent of this threat.” Manzullo told reporters he was “shocked” at the admission and later told CNSNews.com he was confused about how the administration could manage... CNSNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416157/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:27:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415949/posts ...Alamoudi, who was given power of attorney by several Gitmo detainees, even persuaded the Pentagon to let an al-Qaida-tied Saudi charity fly planeloads of Muslim-American soldiers to Mecca... Investor's Business Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415949/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:14:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415535/posts Xmas bomb bid complicates Gitmo By: Josh Gerstein December 26, 2009 07:02 PM EST Growing evidence that the Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a commercial airliner as it landed in Detroit Friday spent time in Yemen and may have been fitted with customized, explosive-laden clothing there could complicate the U.S. government’s efforts to send home more than 80 Yemeni prisoners currently at Guantanamo Bay. Since Yemenis represent almost half of the roughly 200 remaining prisoners at Gitmo, new hurdles to their resettlement could spell more trouble for President Barack Obama’s plan to close the island prison while... Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415535/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 00:44:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2415340/posts Here is a bright idea. Take a gaggle of the most dangerous terrorists in the world, move them from a very secure holding facility in Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) and transfer them to a prison in a sleepy little Illinois town. This is the brilliant plan of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Currently, a board is meeting to put its stamp of approval regarding the transfer of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), the admitted mastermind of 9/11, and a number of other Gitmo detainees to the Thomson Correctional Facility in Thomson, Illinois. The Mayor of this sleepy little hamlet is all a... RFFM.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2415340/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:31:25 GMT