Dozens of Prisoners Released from Gitmo “Confirmed of Reengaging” in Terrorist Activities

Over a decade after the U.S. government offered a $5 million reward for information on the whereabouts of an Al Qaeda operative it released from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay an intelligence report reveals that like him dozens of detainees freed from the compound have rejoined terrorist missions. They are part of the hundreds of Gitmo terrorists discharged over the years under a controversial program that started with President George W. Bush and continued full throttle under the Obama administration. Numerous military and intelligence reports have for years documented that many of the captives return to terrorism after leaving the top security prison at the Naval station in southeast Cuba.

As far back as 2010 Obama’s National Intelligence Director disclosed that one in four men incarcerated at Gitmo resume terrorist activities against the United States after being released even as the former president worked to fulfill his promise of returning America to the “moral high ground” by closing the detention facility. At the time 150 former Gitmo prisoners were confirmed or suspected of “reengaging in terrorist or insurgent activities after transfer,” the then Director of National Intelligence (DNI) told Congress. At least 83 “remain at large” and if additional detainees are released, some will “reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities,” the 2010 DNI assessment stated. Years earlier the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) had acknowledged a sharp rise in the number of Gitmo detainees who rejoin terrorist missions after leaving U.S. custody. Using data such as fingerprints, pictures, and other reports the defense agency, which gathers foreign military intelligence, determined that the number of Middle Eastern terrorists who returned to “the fight” after discharge from Gitmo nearly doubled in a short time.

All these years later, as some Democrats and their leftist allies insist on closing the prison, the recidivism issue persists. The facility still houses the world’s most dangerous Islamic terrorists, including 9/11 masterminds Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi as well as USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. But many dangerous, once classified “forever” prisoners, have been let go and present a gave national security threat. The Al Qaeda operative, Ibrahim al-Rubaysh, that the government offered a multi-million-dollar reward for after the Gitmo release is a senior Sharia official and advisor of the terrorist organization, according to the State Department. Other examples of recidivism among freed Gitmo jihadists include dozens who have rejoined Al Qaeda in Yemen, the country where the 2009 Christmas Day airline bomber proudly trained, and several high-ranking Al Qaeda militants in Yemen involved in a sophisticated scheme to send bombs on a U.S.-bound cargo plane. A Gitmo alum named Mullah Abdul Rauf, who once led a Taliban unit, established the first Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) base in Afghanistan. Another, Sabir Mahfouz Lahmar, was arrested in France as part of a terrorist cell that operated an ISIS recruiting network.

The latest report issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) reveals that of 739 prisoners released from Gitmo, 137 are “confirmed of reengaging” in terrorist activities and 97 are suspected of doing so, which means they likely are. “Based on trends identified during the past 20 years, we assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred,” the recently declassified ODNI document states. “Transfers to countries with ongoing conflicts and internal instability as well as recruitment by terrorist or insurgent organizations could pose an increased risk of reengagement.” The ODNI further reveals that former Gitmo detainees routinely communicate with each other, families of former detainees and members of terrorist organizations. Intelligence officials have determined that planning terrorist operations is among the reasons for the communication.

The Biden administration released the latest batch of terrorists from Gitmo, 11 Yemenis transferred to Oman in early January. There are currently 15 of the world’s most dangerous jihadists at the military prison that once incarcerated 779. For years Judicial Watch has traveled to Gitmo to observe and report on the military tribunal trials of 9/11 terrorists and others, including USS Cole bomber al-Nashiri. Judicial Watch also covers all the hearings held by the Obama-created parole panel known as the Periodic Review Board via satellite video feed at the Pentagon.

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