Congressman McCaul Tours Guantanamo
February 23, 2009
AUSTIN – After touring the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Monday, Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX 10) reaffirmed his commitment to stopping the Obama administration from closing the center and possibly transferring enemy combatants of war with strong ties to terrorist groups to the United States.
“Chilling,” is how Rep. McCaul, who serves as Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee, described the tour. “These are the worst of the worst. These are high value targets and the top leadership of al Qaeda and the Taliban. Many of them have direct ties to Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks. The thought of sending these terrorists to the United States where they could possibly be released is a great mistake.”
Rep. McCaul was part of the first U.S. House delegation to tour Joint Task Force-Guantanamo since President Obama signed three Executive Orders January 22 requiring the center be closed within one year. The orders make it likely that some of the 245 remaining detainees, who have been denied re-entry into their home countries, would be transferred to the United States.
Nearly 800 detainees have been transferred to Guantanamo since early 2002 and the substantial majority of them have ultimately been transferred to a third country for continued detention or release. According to the Brookings Institute, of the remaining 245 detainees:
·81 detainees traveled to Afghanistan for jihad.
·130 stayed in al Qaeda, Taliban, or other guest- or safehouses.
·169 detainees took military or terrorist training in Afghanistan.
·84 fought for the Taliban, many of them on the front lines against theNorthern Alliance.
·28 detainees served on Osama Bin Laden’s security detail.
·36 openly admit either membership or significant association with Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or some other armed group the government considers militarily hostile to the U.S.
The Pentagon has said at least 61 detainees who were released returned to terrorism. One is now the deputy leader of Al-Qaida's Yemini branch.
The President’s orders center around alleged mistreatment of detainees. However, in accordance with the President’s directive, the Pentagon inspected the detention center and found the treatment of detainees to be in accordance with the Geneva Convention. They receive up to seven hours per day outside of their cells for recreational activity, have more than adequate access to healthcare, have accommodations for religious practices, and are not subjected to torture. “I got the impression our military is bending over backwards to accommodate them. Their treatment is arguably better than what’s received in most federal prisons,” said Rep. McCaul, a former federal prosecutor.
In light of the President’s actions, Congressman Michael McCaul has co-sponsored H.R. 630, the Enemy Combatant Detention Review Act, to prevent the relocation of any Guantanamo detainees to the United States.
"Our objective in the War on Terror has always been to keep terrorists off of U.S. soil and away from our cities and Americans they intend to harm," Rep. McCaul said. "We cannot allow suspected terrorists to be brought into our country and given rights that could lead to their release."
Rep. McCaul was Chief of Counter-Terrorism at the U.S. Attorney's office before he entered Congress.