As an example of why the Gitmo detainees can’t simply be released, the NY Times reports:
The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order President Obama signed Thursday that the detention center be shut down within a year.
The militant, Said Ali al-Shihri, is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the United States Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September. He was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before resurfacing with Al Qaeda in Yemen.
I’m glad the NY Times reported this, but of course, they can’t resist editorializing:
Although the Pentagon has said that dozens of released Guantánamo detainees have “returned to the fight,” its claim is difficult to document, and has been met with skepticism. In any case, few of the former detainees, if any, are thought to have become leaders of a major terrorist organization like Al Qaeda in Yemen, a mostly homegrown group that experts say has been reinforced by foreign fighters.
“Has been met with skepticism” is classic weasel language. Skepticism by whom? If you don’t tell us, you’re just inserting your opinion. (Doesn’t the NY Times style guide say something about this?) Moreover, who would be surprised if few former detainees become Al Qaeda leaders? How many leaders do they think Al Qaeda has?
(Via the Corner.)
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