Rehab for Former Jihadist Fails, Former Gitmo Detainee Surfaces as No. 2 al-Qaida Leader in Yemen
An online posting reportedly by al-Qaida in Yemen claims that their group's No. 2 leader is a Saudi national that was a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay. The Yemen group is known as "al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula", and posted the statement this week on a militant website which regularly posts al-Qaida messages.
According to the post, the man in question returned to his home in Saudi Arabia after being released from the U.S. federal prison in Cuba about one year ago. From there he is said to have gone to Yemen to join the terrorist organization.
The man was identified by the statement as Said Ali al-Shihri, and that his prisoner number at Gitmo was 372.
al-Shihri was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007, and went through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before rejoining the group in Yemen. He was also suspected of being involved in a deadly bombing of the US embassy in the Yemen capital of Sana in September.
Saudi Arabia had previously claimed that no graduates of its program had returned to terrorism.
Comments
Well, let's hope this has all been thought through. The PR advantages are enormous, obviously, yet today's top story in the NY Times - about a former Guantanamo detainee who's now one of the leaders of Al Qaeda in Yemen - illustrates the pitfalls
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 also notice that Michael Scheurer - who's no mindless hawk - has his doubts about the new policy:
A former CIA analyst who helped set up the rendition programme and headed the unit hunting for Osama bin Laden, [Scheurer] accused Obama of putting Americans at risk. "It's just more evidence that the Clinton children are back in control. They just have no idea of what kind of world they are facing," Scheuer said. "No matter what they think of Guantánamo or the black sites America is infinitely safer because of it."
Just curious, what does Obama have in mind for those we capture that pose threats to our country? His orders call for Gitmo closure in a year regardless of whether or not we have somewhere to send them. And with Americans more worried about themselves and what is going to happen with the domestic issues at hand (financially, with housing, hell, even the wireless internet that is supposedly going to be made available) Obama will have too much to deal with to think about rehabilitation for these terrorists.
Why did they let this guy go? It just shows you things to come when they finally close Gitmo. (If they ever do, at the rate Obama seems to be doing stuff.)
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