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The Biden administration has released 11 suspected former al-Qaeda members who were locked up at Guantánamo Bay.

In a move announced by the Pentagon on Monday, the administration released 11 Yemeni prisoners to the country of Oman, whose government has agreed to resettle them and also monitor their movements.

Among the suspected former al-Qaeda members from Yemen were two who’d allegedly served as deceased terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden’s bodyguards:

Why not just send them all back to Yemen? Because of the law, which states that “the military cannot send Guantánamo prisoners to Yemen because, as a nation caught up in a brutal civil war, it is considered too unstable to monitor and rehabilitate returnees,” as reported by The New York Times.

“The United States has typically paid host countries stipends for housing, education, rehabilitation and to monitor the activities of the men,” the Times further notes. “The United States has also asked receiving countries to prevent the former Guantánamo detainees from traveling abroad for at least two years.”

Multiple media outlets have confirmed that the move was inspired solely by a “desperate” desire to reduce the population at Guantánamo Bay before President Joe Biden leaves office later this month.

However, the Times notes that none of the released men had been charged with any specific crimes during their detention. Moreover, all of them were long ago approved for release.

“[E]ach of the 10 Yemeni detainees underwent a thorough, interagency review by career professionals who unanimously determined all detainees as transfer eligible consistent with the national security interests of the United States,” according to a Pentagon press release.

Why didn’t they get released earlier then? Reportedly because of political matters.

“Monday’s transfers were originally scheduled to happen in October 2023, but were halted at the last minute due to concerns in Congress about instability in the Middle East following the Hamas attack on Israel,” according to NPR.

NPR further admits that this release is “a last-ditch effort by [Biden’s] administration to shrink Guantánamo’s prisoner population and get closer to his goal of trying to close the facility.”

And so the president has released the 11 potentially dangerous former al-Qaeda members so as to prop up his already tattered legacy.

Congressional Republicans are not happy with the move.

“It is utterly shameful that today the Biden administration released 11 Yemeni terrorists from Guantanamo Bay and sent them back to Oman,” Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted Monday.

“Releasing Islamic terrorists who would kill every American in the name of their god is a dangerous endorsement of terrorism. It is wrong. It is reckless. And it IS an insult to the memories of those who died on 9/11, every terrorist attack against Americans, victims on Jan 1, 2025, in New Orleans, and our GREAT American military members who died fighting against terrorism,” she added.

Members of the public are also outraged, with many accusing Biden of purposefully endangering Americans days before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.

Look:

Previously released Guantánamo detainees have a history of returning to combat.

“According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, of the 714 former Guantánamo Bay detainees who were transferred to other countries by Jan. 15, 2017 — dating back to when the Bush administration opened the prison in Cuba in January 2002 — 121 are ‘confirmed’ to have engaged in militant activity after their release,” the Times reported in 2017.

Vivek Saxena
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