Overall, 14 percent of the more than 530 detainees transferred out of Guantanamo are confirmed or suspected to have been involved in terrorist activities since their release.
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This is as ridiculous as what we are doing with these Somali pirates when we catch them, which is release them. So what do you know! Piracy and terrorism is a kick as means of crime or waging war in today’s world.
To me, this is a prime example of non-state actors, utilizing their strategic advantage of ignoring or abusing the borders and laws of states, in order to achieve their goals. It works very well.
The question I have, is how do you defeat non-state actors? Terrorists, pirates, organized crime, and drug cartels are all non-state actors…so how do you defeat them?
I have some ideas based on how societies and countries have dealt with these issues in the past, but I guarantee the ‘state’ really doesn’t want to hear it. Here is a hint. Laws like Article 1, Section 8 in the U.S. Constitution are in there for a reason. –Matt
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Former Gitmo detainees help al-Qaida grow in Yemen
By MIKE MELIA and SARAH EL DEEB
Dec 31, 2009
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 highlights the challenge of identifying the hard-core militants as the administration decides what to do with the remaining 198 prisoners.
Like other former Guantanamo detainees who have rejoined al-Qaida in Yemen, al-Shihri, 36, won his release despite jihadist credentials such as, in his case, urban warfare training in Afghanistan.
He later goaded the United States, saying Guantanamo only strengthened his anti-American convictions.
“By God, our imprisonment has only increased our persistence and adherence to our principles,” he said in a speech when al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula formed in Yemen in January 2009. It was included in a propaganda film for the group.