Guantanamo’s Last Year
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Transcript of Guantanamo’s Last Year
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 18
1 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Guantanamorsquos Last Year
By Ken Gude January 26 2016
Wih one year lef in his adminisraion Presiden Barack Obama remains commited
o closing he prison a Guananamo Bay during his ime in office Congress has pro-
hibied a leas or now one aspec o he presidenrsquos preerred pahway o close he
prison991252ranserring some deainees ino he Unied Saes or rial or coninued law o
war deenion1 Much o his debae has ocused on he quesion o wheher Presiden
Obama will use execuive acion o override he congressional ranser ban2
Doing so would be impracical and exremely unwise Te Obama adminisraion should sae
publicly ha i will no use execuive acion o bring large numbers o Guananamo
deainees ino he Unied Saes in defiance o congressional saue A beter sraegy
would be o pursue alernaive opions or closing Guananamo ha even given curren
sauory consrains remain enirely in he conrol o he execuive branch
Amid disappoinmen a he ailure o close Guananamo i is easy o orge ha
Presiden Obama originally believed i was easible o ideniy caegorize prosecue
and ranser all 242 deainees in jus one year991252he same amoun o ime he has lef or
he remaining 91 deainees3
While congressional resisance is a new obsacle no pres-en a he ime o Presiden Obamarsquos original pledge moving he majoriy o deainees
ou o Guananamo is now mosly abou he implemenaion o policies and decisions
already made a much more manageable challenge han he one ha Obama aced in
2009 I ha goal is o be achieved however Presiden Obama mus command a greaer
level o urgency hroughou his adminisraion and especially a he Penagon Te risk
is no simply a ailure ha becomes a sain on he presidenrsquos legacy raher he much
more serious risk is ha he nex adminisraion could resume sending deainees o
Guananamo which is on he wish lis o many conservaives
Te later would do irreparable harm o American naional securiy991252and be a colossal
wase o money Holding a deainee a Guananamo now coss $4 million per year per
deainee compared wih less han $100000 per inmae in he highes securiy prison in
he Unied Saes4 And while i is air o say ha he salience o Guananamo as a recrui-
ing ool or erroris groups has aded during he Obama adminisraionrsquos effors o close
i i is no gone Hosages held by he Islamic Sae o Iraq and al-Sham or ISIS are no
dressed in Guananamo-like orange jumpsuis by acciden And i new deainees were o
be sen o Guananamo by he nex adminisraion he prison would roar back o promi-
nence in erroris propaganda and be an enormous sel-infliced wound on he counry
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
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2 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
We canno afford o risk his possibiliy Guananamo mus be closed during he Obama
adminisraion Tis can be achieved by compleing he ollowing seps
bull Hold Periodic Review Board hearings or all eligible deainees by July 1 2016
bull Accelerae ransers o hose deainees designaed or ranser or release
bull Order he Deparmen o Jusice o review deainee cases or prosecuion and poen-
ial plea bargain in ederal courbull Pursue agreemens wih counries o prosecue under heir laws any Guananamo
deainees accused o serious crimes
bull Engage he Aghan governmen o seek an agreemen o ranser back o Aghan cusody
any remaining law o war deainees capured in connecion wih he war in Aghanisan
Some o hese opions may no represen he bes or preerred mehod or he Obama
adminisraion o close Guananamo bu his is a easible and realisic pah o close he
prison in one year Some o hese choices will be difficul bu when measured agains
he possibiliy ha Guananamo could be back in he business o acceping new deain-
ees in 2017 hose difficulies should no be disqualiying A reinvigoraed effor romhe Obama adminisraion is urgenly needed o make 2016 Guananamorsquos las year
Current Guantanamo detainee population
Guananamo held 242 deainees when Presiden Obama ook office on January 20
2009 Te ineragency ask orce ha he se up as par o he process o close he prison
specifically reviewed each deaineersquos case in 2009 Ta ask orce caegorized he
Guananamo deainee populaion ino hree broad caegories Firs were he deainees
who could be ranserred ou o Guananamo and ou o US cusody991252hose who had been cleared by he Bush adminisraion bu were awaiing arrangemens wih receiving
counries Nex were deainees who were slaed or prosecuion in eiher ederal crimi-
nal cour or in a miliary commission And hird were deainees who were o be held in
accordance wih he law o war bu no prosecued5
As o now here are 91 deainees remaining a Guananamo O hose 91 33 have been
cleared or ranser 22 are slaed or prosecuion bu no charges have ye been filed
seven are currenly acing rial by miliary commission 26 are being held in law o war
deenion wih no public plans or prosecuion and hree who were conviced by a
miliary commission are being held pursuan o heir senences6
Hold Periodic Review Board hearings
Presiden Obama esablished he Periodic Review Boards or PRBs by execuive order in
March 20117 Te PRBs were asked wih making an ongoing assessmen o he necessiy
o coninued deenion or hose Guananamo deainees who were in he law o war or
prosecuion caegories bu had no been charged Tese reviews only examine wheher
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 38
3 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
coninued deenion under he law o war is warraned or a paricular deainee and are
no designed o make recommendaions abou he poenial viabiliy o prosecuion eiher
in ederal cours or miliary commissions Te execuive order called or each deainee
o have a PRB case review wihin one year and hen a leas one subsequen review every
hree years hereafer As originally conemplaed each Guananamo deainee would have
had heir case reviewed or possible recaegorizaion and clearance or ranser a leas
wice by now Bu only 19 cases have been compleed and seven more are pending8
Te slow pace o he PRB process has been among he mos inexplicable aspecs o
he Obama adminisraionrsquos effors o close Guananamo Te PRB process is enirely
wihin he conrol o he execuive branch Te process is run by he Deparmen o
Deense and consiss o a review panel comprised o represenaives o he deparmens
o Deense Jusice Homeland Securiy and Sae he Office o he Direcor o Naional
Inelligence and he Join Chies o Saff And i has produced resuls 13 o he 19 hear-
ings held o dae resuled in approval o ranser and hree o he six applicaions ha
were iniially rejeced were approved on a subsequen review In all 16 o he 19 decided
cases deermined ha he deainee could be saely ranserred ou o Guananamo9
Presiden Obama should direc he secreary o deense o make necessary provisions
o ensure ha all eligible Guananamo deainees have a PRB hearing by July 1 2016
I is necessary o allow approximaely six monhs beore he end o he Obama admin-
israion in order o have enough ime beore Presiden Obama leaves office o reach a
resoluion in hese cases and arrange ransers or any deainees cleared by he PRBs O
he remaining 91 deainees 33 have already been cleared or ranser and do no require
a PRB en deainees who have eiher already been conviced in or are acing miliary
commission rials should no be prioriized or PRBs O he remaining 48 7 deainees
are awaiing he final decision in heir PRBs and 3 have already had a PRB hearing haresuled in recommended coninued law o war deenion10
Ta leaves 38 deainees Conducing a PRB or each o hem by he July 1 deadline
clearly would be a massive increase in he rae o hearings o dae bu i should no be
an insurmounable ask or an adminisraion ha insiss ha i is commited o closing
Guananamo during Presiden Obamarsquos erm in office ldquoor die ryingrdquo11 As o now only our
more PRBs are scheduled991252and only one is scheduled in he enire monh o February
Accelerate foreign transfers
Te overriding concern going ino he mos recen congressional debae abou
Guananamo provisions in he 2016 Naional Deense Auhorizaion Ac or NDAA was
ha he now Republican-conrolled Congress would enac more severe ranser resric-
ions han i had in 2014 Tis would have made i impossible o move deainees ou o
Guananamo Several Republican senaors inroduced legislaion early in 2015 ha was
inended o do jus ha12 And early versions o he fiscal year 2016 NDAA did include
language ha would have required he secreary o deense o ldquoensure hardquo any counry
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
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4 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
receiving a Guananamo deainee preven ha deainee rom hreaening he Unied
Saes or engaging in erroris aciviy13 Ta sandard was deemed virually impossible
o mee when i was in effec beween 2011 and 2014 and was he primary cause o he
virual shudown o ransers during ha period14
In he final 2016 NDAA enaced in December however he oreign ranser provi-
sions were modified o require only cerificaion ha receiving counries ldquosubsaniallymiigaerdquo any hrea posed by Guananamo deainees15 Tus he FY 2016 bill basically
preserved he FY 2015 saus quo on condiions on ransers991252alhough i added abso-
lue ranser bans or a ew specific counries Te Obama adminisraion has already
ranserred 16 deainees under hese new requiremens
Tose ransers will be welcome bu here would sill be 33 deainees already cleared
or ranser who were sill in deenion and many more likely added o ha caegory
hrough he PRB process We have seen burss o ranser aciviy in he pas such as
he 27 deainees moved ou o Guananamo in 10 weeks rom November 2014 hrough
January 201516
Bu only 13 more ransers ollowed ha spike in he nex 11 monhso 201517 I here is any hope o closing Guananamo beore Presiden Obama leaves
office he pace o ransers expeced his monh mus coninue hroughou he year
Instruct the Depar tment of Justice to review potential criminal
charges against the uncleared detainees as soon as possible
Te congressional ban on ransers o Guananamo deainees o he Unied Saes has
cu off he mos effecive venue o prosecue suspeced erroriss Foreign erroris
suspecs capured overseas have been brough o he Unied Saes or rial wih relaiverequency hroughou he Obama adminisraion wih none o he conroversy associ-
aed wih Guananamo deainees wo recen high-profile examples are he convicion
o Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law in New York and he ongoing prosecuion in Virginia
o he alleged ringleader o he Benghazi atack18
Te one ormer Guananamo deainee brough o rial in a ederal cour Ahmed
Ghailani was conviced and is now serving a lie senence in a US prison or his role in
he 1998 Eas Arican Embassy bombings19 Bu no oher deainees have been brough
o rial since he 2010 congressional ban Te Obama adminisraion should insruc he
Deparmen o Jusice o immediaely review any poenial criminal charges which could
be brough agains Guananamo deainees no currenly designaed or ranser eiher by
he 2010 ask orce deerminaion or a PRB
Bringing such charges in ederal cour is a much beter pah o poenially overcome he
US ranser ban han doing so by unilaeral execuive acion Once charges are filed he
governmen could ask he judge o order he deendan o be brough ino he Unied
Saes o ace he charges agains him Te indiced Guananamo deainee would be eni-
led o agree or objec o such a ranser Te ederal judge would have o decide on he
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
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5 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
lawulness o he ranser ban in a specific case where he governmen wans o prosecue
a deendan in US cusody who could oherwise no be prosecued and would have o
be released a he end o he conflic consisen wih he law o war
Pursue agreement with affected countries for other prosecutions
Seeking judicial acion o bring Guananamo deainees ino he Unied Saes o sand
rial migh no succeed In preparaion or ha possibiliy he Obama adminisraion
should also immediaely begin negoiaions on he possibiliy o ranserring some
Guananamo deainees o sand rial in oher counries Te mos likely candidae would
be Riduan Isamuddin beter known as Hambali He is an Indonesian associaed wih
boh Jamaa Islamiyya and Al Qaeda and is believed o be responsible or a series o
deadly bombings in Souheas Asia including he 2002 Bali bombing ha kil led more
han 200 people including 9 Americans20
I would be preerable o course or American jusice o be rendered on he murdero nine Americans Bu he US ranser ban may preven a rial in a US cour and he
Guananamo miliary commissions are so hopelessly bogged down in he cases hey are
already handling ha expecing anoher rial in ha orum may be oolish
Bu i Congress prevens a US rial jusice or he vicims o hese atacks need no
be denied orever Tere are a leas wo possible counries ha migh prosecue
Hambali991252Indonesia or Ausralia Indonesia is his counry o naionaliy and Bali he
locaion o he deadlies o his alleged atacks And 88 Ausralians were killed in ha
atack more han any oher naionaliy21
wo oher associaes o Hambali are also held a Guananamo Tey were capured in
Tailand in 2003 by Tai auhoriies and hen ranserred ino US cusody22 I is possible
ha hese wo also could be prosecued or heir acions in counries wih jurisdicion over
heir alleged crimes Tere are a handul o oher deainees capured ar rom he batle-
fields in Aghanisan ha also could be candidaes or hird counry prosecuion
Transfer Afghan War detainees to Afghan custody
Even i all o he opions oulined above are successul over he course o he year i is
virually cerain ha a leas some deainees will remain in law o war deenion Tese
deainees will no be candidaes or prosecuion in any orum nor or resetlemen in
oher counries hrough he radiional ranser process I he prohibiion on ranser
o he Unied Saes remains in effec he Obama adminisraion should begin negoia-
ions wih he Aghan governmen o ranser o is cusody hose Guananamo deain-
ees capured in connecion wih he Aghanisan War Doing so would be consisen
wih curren US policy in Aghanisan regarding deenion
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
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6 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
While his opion has no been publicly discussed i is only he peculiariy o Guananamo
isel ha makes i seem unusual I he Bush adminisraion had no chosen o remove
hese deainees rom he ldquoA-Pakrdquo heaer in which hey were capured when Guananamo
was creaed mosly in 2002 and 2003 hen hese deainees never would have lef a
all ransers o Guananamo slowed markedly in he mid-2000s and mos individuals
deained by US orces in he A-Pak heaer were in ac kep in deenion here
In 2012 he Unied Saes enered ino a memorandum o undersanding wih he
governmen o Aghanisan o ranser conrol o all US deenion aciliies and cusody
o all US-held deainees in Aghanisan23 Non-Aghan deainees held in Aghanisan
by he Unied Saes so-called hird counry naionals became a sicking poin in he
negoiaions over he ransers o aciliies and cusody24 Tis was ulimaely resolved
wih an addiional agreemen negoiaed in 2014 as par o he US-Aghanisan Bilaeral
Securiy Agreemen25 In ha agreemen Aghanisan commited o a process o review
periodically he cases o hose deainees held in law o war deenion and make is deen-
ion regime consisen wih inernaional humaniarian law and all o Aghanisanrsquos iner-
naional obligaions ldquowih respec o humane reamen and applicable due processrdquo
Pursuan o ha agreemen all Aghan and hird counry naional deainees held by
he Unied Saes in Aghanisan were ranserred o Aghan cusody by December
2014 In essence ranserring deainees o he Aghan governmen who were capured
in connecion wih he war in Aghanisan bu held in Guananamo and who will no
be prosecued would complee he policy process begun wih he 2012 memorandum
o undersanding26
Te Obama adminisraion may have considered his opion in he pas and rejeced i
given he ofen raugh relaionship wih he previous Aghan presiden Hamid Karzaiparicularly around he issue o deenion Te Unied Saes enjoys a much sronger
working relaionship wih new Aghan Presiden Ashra Ghani And he Obama admin-
israion has increased leverage wih is Aghan counerpars afer delaying he draw-
down o US roops in Aghanisan in 2015 afer a direc appeal rom Presiden Ghani
ranserring hird counry naionals back o Aghanisan likely would generae criicism
I is vial ha any such ransers be consisen wih all obligaions under inernaional
law Tey could no proceed unless i is absoluely clear ha he deainees will no be
misreaed in Aghan cusody Bu any oher concerns mus be weighed agains he real
prospec ha i Presiden Obama ails o close Guananamo hese deainees will be
suck in Guananamo or years o come and here may very well be new deainees sen
here as well A his juncure he pahway or resolving he cases o law o war deainees
ranserred o Aghanisan is clearer han i is or any who migh be lef a Guananamo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
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7 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Conclusion
I is easy o be pessimisic abou he prospecs or closing Guananamo during he Obama
adminisraion Posiions have hardened on all sides seemingly insurmounable obsacles
are in he pah o closure and he debae has gone sale Wha is needed now is resh hink-
ing and new energy behind he goal o closing Guananamo One year is sill a long ime
Alernaives o he curren sandoff do exis Guananamorsquos 15h year can be is las
Ken Gude is a Senior Fellow with the National Security team at the Center for American
Progress
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
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8 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Endnotes
1 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031 114th Cong 1st sess (January 62015) available at httpswwwgpogovfdsyspkgBILLS-114s1356enrpdfBILLS-114s1356enrpdf
2 Eli Lake and Josh Rogin ldquoPresident Not Bluffing on ClosingGuantanamordquo Tulsa World January 19 2016 availableat httpwwwtulsaworldcomhomepagelatesteli-
lake-and-josh-rogin-president-not-bluffing-on-closingarticle_2b526fc4-24a7-5dbf-ad66-73f4dc4a5ef5html
3 WJ Hennigan ldquoTransfer of 10 Prisoners Brings GuantanamoPopulation Below 100rdquo Los Angeles Times January 14 2016available at httpwwwlatimescomnationla-na-guanta-namo-bay-transfers-20160114-storyhtml
4 For the $4 million per year statistic see Andrew V PestanoldquoObama Chief of Staff Wersquore Going to Close GuantanamoBayrdquo UPI January 11 2016 available at httpwwwupicom Top_NewsUS20160111Obamas-Chief-of-Staff-Were-going-to-close-Guantanamo-Bay1021452520817 For theless than $100000 per inmate statistic see Solitary WatchldquoThe High Cost of Solitary Confinementrdquo (2011) availableat httpsolitarywatchcomwp-contentuploads201106fact-sheet-the-high-cost-of-solitary-confinementpdf
5 US Department of Justice and others Final ReportGuantanamo Review Task Force (2010) available at http
wwwjusticegovsitesdefaultfilesaglegacy20100602guantanamo-review-final-reportpdf
6 Miami Herald ldquoGuantaacutenamo By the Numbersrdquo January 142016 available at httpwwwmiamiheraldcomnewsnation-worldworldamericasguantanamoarticle2163210html
7 Office of the Press Secretary ldquoExecutive Order 13567 PeriodicReview of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo Bayrdquo Pressrelease March 7 2011 available at httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20110307executive-order-13567-pe-riodic-review-individuals-detained-guant-namo-ba
8 US Department of Defense ldquoPeriodic Review SecretariatInitial Reviewrdquo available at httpwwwprsmilReviewInfor-mationInitialReviewaspx (last accessed January 2016)
9 Ibid
10 Ibid
11 Gabrielle Levy ldquoGitmo Threat Still Hangs Over New DefenseBillrdquo US News amp World Report November 4 2015 availableat httpwwwusnewscomnewsarticles20151104gitmo-threat-still-hangs-over-new-defense-bill
12 Jeremy Herb ldquoGOP Senators Move to Keep Gitmo OpenrdquoPolitico January 13 2015 available at httpwwwpoliticocomstory201501republican-senators-guantana-mo-114223
13 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 HRept 1735 Sec 1039 114 Cong 1 sess (Congressgov2015) available at httpswwwcongressgovbill114th-congresshouse-bill1735texteh
14 Associated Press ldquoTransfers of prisoners from GuantanamoBay have all but stoppedrdquo CBS News September 30 2014available at httpwwwcbsnewscomnewstransfers-of-prisoners-from-guantanamo-bay-have-all-but-stopped
15 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031
16 Wikipedia org ldquoTimeline of the Release and Transfer of Guan-tanamo Bay Detaineesrdquo available at httpsenwikipediaorgwikiTimeline_of_the_release_and_transfer_of_Guanta-namo_Bay_detainees (last accessed January 2016)
17 Ibid
18 For the information on Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law seeBenjamin Weiser ldquoJurors Convict Abu Ghaith Bin Laden Son-in-Law in Terror Caserdquo The New York Times March 26 2014available at httpwwwnytimescom20140327nyregionbin-ladens-son-in-law-is-convicted-in-terror-trialhtml_r=0For the information on the alleged Benghazi ringleader seePaul Courson ldquoBenghazi Suspect Abu Khatallah Pleads NotGuiltyrdquo CNN October 20 2014 available at httpwwwcnncom20141020usabu-khatallah-benghazi
19 Benjamin Weiser ldquoEx-Detainee Gets Life Sentence in EmbassyBlastsrdquo The New York Times January 25 2011 available at httpwwwnytimescom20110126nyregion26ghailanihtml
20 Paul Toohey ldquoBali bombings terrorist Hambali yet toface trial after years in Guant aacutenamo Bayrdquo NewscomauNovember 28 2014 available at httpwwwnewscomauworldbali-bombings-terrorist-hambali-yet-to-face-trial-after-years-in-guantaacutenamo-baynews-story224c09c3323e947056af0068b0fec33e
21 BBC News ldquoAustralia Remembers 88 Killed in Bali BombingrdquoOctober 12 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19920643
22 Lee Shi-Ian ldquoMalaysian duo in Guantanamo to face tribunalrdquoAsiaOne January 23 2012 available at httpnewsasiaonecomNewsAsiaOne2BNewsMalaysiaStoryA1S-tory20120123-323490html
23 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of America
On Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo March 9 2012 available at httpmfagovafennews7671
24 BBC News ldquoAfghanistan US hands over controversial Ba-gram jailrdquo September 10 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19539412
25 Richard Sisk ldquoUS Military Hands Over Last 3 Prisoners inAfghanistanrdquo Militarycom December 10 2014 available athttpwwwmilitarycomdaily-news20141210us-hands-off-last-3-us-held-prisoners-in-afghanistanhtml
26 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of AmericaOn Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 28
2 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
We canno afford o risk his possibiliy Guananamo mus be closed during he Obama
adminisraion Tis can be achieved by compleing he ollowing seps
bull Hold Periodic Review Board hearings or all eligible deainees by July 1 2016
bull Accelerae ransers o hose deainees designaed or ranser or release
bull Order he Deparmen o Jusice o review deainee cases or prosecuion and poen-
ial plea bargain in ederal courbull Pursue agreemens wih counries o prosecue under heir laws any Guananamo
deainees accused o serious crimes
bull Engage he Aghan governmen o seek an agreemen o ranser back o Aghan cusody
any remaining law o war deainees capured in connecion wih he war in Aghanisan
Some o hese opions may no represen he bes or preerred mehod or he Obama
adminisraion o close Guananamo bu his is a easible and realisic pah o close he
prison in one year Some o hese choices will be difficul bu when measured agains
he possibiliy ha Guananamo could be back in he business o acceping new deain-
ees in 2017 hose difficulies should no be disqualiying A reinvigoraed effor romhe Obama adminisraion is urgenly needed o make 2016 Guananamorsquos las year
Current Guantanamo detainee population
Guananamo held 242 deainees when Presiden Obama ook office on January 20
2009 Te ineragency ask orce ha he se up as par o he process o close he prison
specifically reviewed each deaineersquos case in 2009 Ta ask orce caegorized he
Guananamo deainee populaion ino hree broad caegories Firs were he deainees
who could be ranserred ou o Guananamo and ou o US cusody991252hose who had been cleared by he Bush adminisraion bu were awaiing arrangemens wih receiving
counries Nex were deainees who were slaed or prosecuion in eiher ederal crimi-
nal cour or in a miliary commission And hird were deainees who were o be held in
accordance wih he law o war bu no prosecued5
As o now here are 91 deainees remaining a Guananamo O hose 91 33 have been
cleared or ranser 22 are slaed or prosecuion bu no charges have ye been filed
seven are currenly acing rial by miliary commission 26 are being held in law o war
deenion wih no public plans or prosecuion and hree who were conviced by a
miliary commission are being held pursuan o heir senences6
Hold Periodic Review Board hearings
Presiden Obama esablished he Periodic Review Boards or PRBs by execuive order in
March 20117 Te PRBs were asked wih making an ongoing assessmen o he necessiy
o coninued deenion or hose Guananamo deainees who were in he law o war or
prosecuion caegories bu had no been charged Tese reviews only examine wheher
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 38
3 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
coninued deenion under he law o war is warraned or a paricular deainee and are
no designed o make recommendaions abou he poenial viabiliy o prosecuion eiher
in ederal cours or miliary commissions Te execuive order called or each deainee
o have a PRB case review wihin one year and hen a leas one subsequen review every
hree years hereafer As originally conemplaed each Guananamo deainee would have
had heir case reviewed or possible recaegorizaion and clearance or ranser a leas
wice by now Bu only 19 cases have been compleed and seven more are pending8
Te slow pace o he PRB process has been among he mos inexplicable aspecs o
he Obama adminisraionrsquos effors o close Guananamo Te PRB process is enirely
wihin he conrol o he execuive branch Te process is run by he Deparmen o
Deense and consiss o a review panel comprised o represenaives o he deparmens
o Deense Jusice Homeland Securiy and Sae he Office o he Direcor o Naional
Inelligence and he Join Chies o Saff And i has produced resuls 13 o he 19 hear-
ings held o dae resuled in approval o ranser and hree o he six applicaions ha
were iniially rejeced were approved on a subsequen review In all 16 o he 19 decided
cases deermined ha he deainee could be saely ranserred ou o Guananamo9
Presiden Obama should direc he secreary o deense o make necessary provisions
o ensure ha all eligible Guananamo deainees have a PRB hearing by July 1 2016
I is necessary o allow approximaely six monhs beore he end o he Obama admin-
israion in order o have enough ime beore Presiden Obama leaves office o reach a
resoluion in hese cases and arrange ransers or any deainees cleared by he PRBs O
he remaining 91 deainees 33 have already been cleared or ranser and do no require
a PRB en deainees who have eiher already been conviced in or are acing miliary
commission rials should no be prioriized or PRBs O he remaining 48 7 deainees
are awaiing he final decision in heir PRBs and 3 have already had a PRB hearing haresuled in recommended coninued law o war deenion10
Ta leaves 38 deainees Conducing a PRB or each o hem by he July 1 deadline
clearly would be a massive increase in he rae o hearings o dae bu i should no be
an insurmounable ask or an adminisraion ha insiss ha i is commited o closing
Guananamo during Presiden Obamarsquos erm in office ldquoor die ryingrdquo11 As o now only our
more PRBs are scheduled991252and only one is scheduled in he enire monh o February
Accelerate foreign transfers
Te overriding concern going ino he mos recen congressional debae abou
Guananamo provisions in he 2016 Naional Deense Auhorizaion Ac or NDAA was
ha he now Republican-conrolled Congress would enac more severe ranser resric-
ions han i had in 2014 Tis would have made i impossible o move deainees ou o
Guananamo Several Republican senaors inroduced legislaion early in 2015 ha was
inended o do jus ha12 And early versions o he fiscal year 2016 NDAA did include
language ha would have required he secreary o deense o ldquoensure hardquo any counry
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 48
4 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
receiving a Guananamo deainee preven ha deainee rom hreaening he Unied
Saes or engaging in erroris aciviy13 Ta sandard was deemed virually impossible
o mee when i was in effec beween 2011 and 2014 and was he primary cause o he
virual shudown o ransers during ha period14
In he final 2016 NDAA enaced in December however he oreign ranser provi-
sions were modified o require only cerificaion ha receiving counries ldquosubsaniallymiigaerdquo any hrea posed by Guananamo deainees15 Tus he FY 2016 bill basically
preserved he FY 2015 saus quo on condiions on ransers991252alhough i added abso-
lue ranser bans or a ew specific counries Te Obama adminisraion has already
ranserred 16 deainees under hese new requiremens
Tose ransers will be welcome bu here would sill be 33 deainees already cleared
or ranser who were sill in deenion and many more likely added o ha caegory
hrough he PRB process We have seen burss o ranser aciviy in he pas such as
he 27 deainees moved ou o Guananamo in 10 weeks rom November 2014 hrough
January 201516
Bu only 13 more ransers ollowed ha spike in he nex 11 monhso 201517 I here is any hope o closing Guananamo beore Presiden Obama leaves
office he pace o ransers expeced his monh mus coninue hroughou he year
Instruct the Depar tment of Justice to review potential criminal
charges against the uncleared detainees as soon as possible
Te congressional ban on ransers o Guananamo deainees o he Unied Saes has
cu off he mos effecive venue o prosecue suspeced erroriss Foreign erroris
suspecs capured overseas have been brough o he Unied Saes or rial wih relaiverequency hroughou he Obama adminisraion wih none o he conroversy associ-
aed wih Guananamo deainees wo recen high-profile examples are he convicion
o Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law in New York and he ongoing prosecuion in Virginia
o he alleged ringleader o he Benghazi atack18
Te one ormer Guananamo deainee brough o rial in a ederal cour Ahmed
Ghailani was conviced and is now serving a lie senence in a US prison or his role in
he 1998 Eas Arican Embassy bombings19 Bu no oher deainees have been brough
o rial since he 2010 congressional ban Te Obama adminisraion should insruc he
Deparmen o Jusice o immediaely review any poenial criminal charges which could
be brough agains Guananamo deainees no currenly designaed or ranser eiher by
he 2010 ask orce deerminaion or a PRB
Bringing such charges in ederal cour is a much beter pah o poenially overcome he
US ranser ban han doing so by unilaeral execuive acion Once charges are filed he
governmen could ask he judge o order he deendan o be brough ino he Unied
Saes o ace he charges agains him Te indiced Guananamo deainee would be eni-
led o agree or objec o such a ranser Te ederal judge would have o decide on he
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 58
5 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
lawulness o he ranser ban in a specific case where he governmen wans o prosecue
a deendan in US cusody who could oherwise no be prosecued and would have o
be released a he end o he conflic consisen wih he law o war
Pursue agreement with affected countries for other prosecutions
Seeking judicial acion o bring Guananamo deainees ino he Unied Saes o sand
rial migh no succeed In preparaion or ha possibiliy he Obama adminisraion
should also immediaely begin negoiaions on he possibiliy o ranserring some
Guananamo deainees o sand rial in oher counries Te mos likely candidae would
be Riduan Isamuddin beter known as Hambali He is an Indonesian associaed wih
boh Jamaa Islamiyya and Al Qaeda and is believed o be responsible or a series o
deadly bombings in Souheas Asia including he 2002 Bali bombing ha kil led more
han 200 people including 9 Americans20
I would be preerable o course or American jusice o be rendered on he murdero nine Americans Bu he US ranser ban may preven a rial in a US cour and he
Guananamo miliary commissions are so hopelessly bogged down in he cases hey are
already handling ha expecing anoher rial in ha orum may be oolish
Bu i Congress prevens a US rial jusice or he vicims o hese atacks need no
be denied orever Tere are a leas wo possible counries ha migh prosecue
Hambali991252Indonesia or Ausralia Indonesia is his counry o naionaliy and Bali he
locaion o he deadlies o his alleged atacks And 88 Ausralians were killed in ha
atack more han any oher naionaliy21
wo oher associaes o Hambali are also held a Guananamo Tey were capured in
Tailand in 2003 by Tai auhoriies and hen ranserred ino US cusody22 I is possible
ha hese wo also could be prosecued or heir acions in counries wih jurisdicion over
heir alleged crimes Tere are a handul o oher deainees capured ar rom he batle-
fields in Aghanisan ha also could be candidaes or hird counry prosecuion
Transfer Afghan War detainees to Afghan custody
Even i all o he opions oulined above are successul over he course o he year i is
virually cerain ha a leas some deainees will remain in law o war deenion Tese
deainees will no be candidaes or prosecuion in any orum nor or resetlemen in
oher counries hrough he radiional ranser process I he prohibiion on ranser
o he Unied Saes remains in effec he Obama adminisraion should begin negoia-
ions wih he Aghan governmen o ranser o is cusody hose Guananamo deain-
ees capured in connecion wih he Aghanisan War Doing so would be consisen
wih curren US policy in Aghanisan regarding deenion
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 68
6 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
While his opion has no been publicly discussed i is only he peculiariy o Guananamo
isel ha makes i seem unusual I he Bush adminisraion had no chosen o remove
hese deainees rom he ldquoA-Pakrdquo heaer in which hey were capured when Guananamo
was creaed mosly in 2002 and 2003 hen hese deainees never would have lef a
all ransers o Guananamo slowed markedly in he mid-2000s and mos individuals
deained by US orces in he A-Pak heaer were in ac kep in deenion here
In 2012 he Unied Saes enered ino a memorandum o undersanding wih he
governmen o Aghanisan o ranser conrol o all US deenion aciliies and cusody
o all US-held deainees in Aghanisan23 Non-Aghan deainees held in Aghanisan
by he Unied Saes so-called hird counry naionals became a sicking poin in he
negoiaions over he ransers o aciliies and cusody24 Tis was ulimaely resolved
wih an addiional agreemen negoiaed in 2014 as par o he US-Aghanisan Bilaeral
Securiy Agreemen25 In ha agreemen Aghanisan commited o a process o review
periodically he cases o hose deainees held in law o war deenion and make is deen-
ion regime consisen wih inernaional humaniarian law and all o Aghanisanrsquos iner-
naional obligaions ldquowih respec o humane reamen and applicable due processrdquo
Pursuan o ha agreemen all Aghan and hird counry naional deainees held by
he Unied Saes in Aghanisan were ranserred o Aghan cusody by December
2014 In essence ranserring deainees o he Aghan governmen who were capured
in connecion wih he war in Aghanisan bu held in Guananamo and who will no
be prosecued would complee he policy process begun wih he 2012 memorandum
o undersanding26
Te Obama adminisraion may have considered his opion in he pas and rejeced i
given he ofen raugh relaionship wih he previous Aghan presiden Hamid Karzaiparicularly around he issue o deenion Te Unied Saes enjoys a much sronger
working relaionship wih new Aghan Presiden Ashra Ghani And he Obama admin-
israion has increased leverage wih is Aghan counerpars afer delaying he draw-
down o US roops in Aghanisan in 2015 afer a direc appeal rom Presiden Ghani
ranserring hird counry naionals back o Aghanisan likely would generae criicism
I is vial ha any such ransers be consisen wih all obligaions under inernaional
law Tey could no proceed unless i is absoluely clear ha he deainees will no be
misreaed in Aghan cusody Bu any oher concerns mus be weighed agains he real
prospec ha i Presiden Obama ails o close Guananamo hese deainees will be
suck in Guananamo or years o come and here may very well be new deainees sen
here as well A his juncure he pahway or resolving he cases o law o war deainees
ranserred o Aghanisan is clearer han i is or any who migh be lef a Guananamo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 78
7 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Conclusion
I is easy o be pessimisic abou he prospecs or closing Guananamo during he Obama
adminisraion Posiions have hardened on all sides seemingly insurmounable obsacles
are in he pah o closure and he debae has gone sale Wha is needed now is resh hink-
ing and new energy behind he goal o closing Guananamo One year is sill a long ime
Alernaives o he curren sandoff do exis Guananamorsquos 15h year can be is las
Ken Gude is a Senior Fellow with the National Security team at the Center for American
Progress
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 88
8 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Endnotes
1 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031 114th Cong 1st sess (January 62015) available at httpswwwgpogovfdsyspkgBILLS-114s1356enrpdfBILLS-114s1356enrpdf
2 Eli Lake and Josh Rogin ldquoPresident Not Bluffing on ClosingGuantanamordquo Tulsa World January 19 2016 availableat httpwwwtulsaworldcomhomepagelatesteli-
lake-and-josh-rogin-president-not-bluffing-on-closingarticle_2b526fc4-24a7-5dbf-ad66-73f4dc4a5ef5html
3 WJ Hennigan ldquoTransfer of 10 Prisoners Brings GuantanamoPopulation Below 100rdquo Los Angeles Times January 14 2016available at httpwwwlatimescomnationla-na-guanta-namo-bay-transfers-20160114-storyhtml
4 For the $4 million per year statistic see Andrew V PestanoldquoObama Chief of Staff Wersquore Going to Close GuantanamoBayrdquo UPI January 11 2016 available at httpwwwupicom Top_NewsUS20160111Obamas-Chief-of-Staff-Were-going-to-close-Guantanamo-Bay1021452520817 For theless than $100000 per inmate statistic see Solitary WatchldquoThe High Cost of Solitary Confinementrdquo (2011) availableat httpsolitarywatchcomwp-contentuploads201106fact-sheet-the-high-cost-of-solitary-confinementpdf
5 US Department of Justice and others Final ReportGuantanamo Review Task Force (2010) available at http
wwwjusticegovsitesdefaultfilesaglegacy20100602guantanamo-review-final-reportpdf
6 Miami Herald ldquoGuantaacutenamo By the Numbersrdquo January 142016 available at httpwwwmiamiheraldcomnewsnation-worldworldamericasguantanamoarticle2163210html
7 Office of the Press Secretary ldquoExecutive Order 13567 PeriodicReview of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo Bayrdquo Pressrelease March 7 2011 available at httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20110307executive-order-13567-pe-riodic-review-individuals-detained-guant-namo-ba
8 US Department of Defense ldquoPeriodic Review SecretariatInitial Reviewrdquo available at httpwwwprsmilReviewInfor-mationInitialReviewaspx (last accessed January 2016)
9 Ibid
10 Ibid
11 Gabrielle Levy ldquoGitmo Threat Still Hangs Over New DefenseBillrdquo US News amp World Report November 4 2015 availableat httpwwwusnewscomnewsarticles20151104gitmo-threat-still-hangs-over-new-defense-bill
12 Jeremy Herb ldquoGOP Senators Move to Keep Gitmo OpenrdquoPolitico January 13 2015 available at httpwwwpoliticocomstory201501republican-senators-guantana-mo-114223
13 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 HRept 1735 Sec 1039 114 Cong 1 sess (Congressgov2015) available at httpswwwcongressgovbill114th-congresshouse-bill1735texteh
14 Associated Press ldquoTransfers of prisoners from GuantanamoBay have all but stoppedrdquo CBS News September 30 2014available at httpwwwcbsnewscomnewstransfers-of-prisoners-from-guantanamo-bay-have-all-but-stopped
15 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031
16 Wikipedia org ldquoTimeline of the Release and Transfer of Guan-tanamo Bay Detaineesrdquo available at httpsenwikipediaorgwikiTimeline_of_the_release_and_transfer_of_Guanta-namo_Bay_detainees (last accessed January 2016)
17 Ibid
18 For the information on Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law seeBenjamin Weiser ldquoJurors Convict Abu Ghaith Bin Laden Son-in-Law in Terror Caserdquo The New York Times March 26 2014available at httpwwwnytimescom20140327nyregionbin-ladens-son-in-law-is-convicted-in-terror-trialhtml_r=0For the information on the alleged Benghazi ringleader seePaul Courson ldquoBenghazi Suspect Abu Khatallah Pleads NotGuiltyrdquo CNN October 20 2014 available at httpwwwcnncom20141020usabu-khatallah-benghazi
19 Benjamin Weiser ldquoEx-Detainee Gets Life Sentence in EmbassyBlastsrdquo The New York Times January 25 2011 available at httpwwwnytimescom20110126nyregion26ghailanihtml
20 Paul Toohey ldquoBali bombings terrorist Hambali yet toface trial after years in Guant aacutenamo Bayrdquo NewscomauNovember 28 2014 available at httpwwwnewscomauworldbali-bombings-terrorist-hambali-yet-to-face-trial-after-years-in-guantaacutenamo-baynews-story224c09c3323e947056af0068b0fec33e
21 BBC News ldquoAustralia Remembers 88 Killed in Bali BombingrdquoOctober 12 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19920643
22 Lee Shi-Ian ldquoMalaysian duo in Guantanamo to face tribunalrdquoAsiaOne January 23 2012 available at httpnewsasiaonecomNewsAsiaOne2BNewsMalaysiaStoryA1S-tory20120123-323490html
23 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of America
On Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo March 9 2012 available at httpmfagovafennews7671
24 BBC News ldquoAfghanistan US hands over controversial Ba-gram jailrdquo September 10 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19539412
25 Richard Sisk ldquoUS Military Hands Over Last 3 Prisoners inAfghanistanrdquo Militarycom December 10 2014 available athttpwwwmilitarycomdaily-news20141210us-hands-off-last-3-us-held-prisoners-in-afghanistanhtml
26 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of AmericaOn Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 38
3 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
coninued deenion under he law o war is warraned or a paricular deainee and are
no designed o make recommendaions abou he poenial viabiliy o prosecuion eiher
in ederal cours or miliary commissions Te execuive order called or each deainee
o have a PRB case review wihin one year and hen a leas one subsequen review every
hree years hereafer As originally conemplaed each Guananamo deainee would have
had heir case reviewed or possible recaegorizaion and clearance or ranser a leas
wice by now Bu only 19 cases have been compleed and seven more are pending8
Te slow pace o he PRB process has been among he mos inexplicable aspecs o
he Obama adminisraionrsquos effors o close Guananamo Te PRB process is enirely
wihin he conrol o he execuive branch Te process is run by he Deparmen o
Deense and consiss o a review panel comprised o represenaives o he deparmens
o Deense Jusice Homeland Securiy and Sae he Office o he Direcor o Naional
Inelligence and he Join Chies o Saff And i has produced resuls 13 o he 19 hear-
ings held o dae resuled in approval o ranser and hree o he six applicaions ha
were iniially rejeced were approved on a subsequen review In all 16 o he 19 decided
cases deermined ha he deainee could be saely ranserred ou o Guananamo9
Presiden Obama should direc he secreary o deense o make necessary provisions
o ensure ha all eligible Guananamo deainees have a PRB hearing by July 1 2016
I is necessary o allow approximaely six monhs beore he end o he Obama admin-
israion in order o have enough ime beore Presiden Obama leaves office o reach a
resoluion in hese cases and arrange ransers or any deainees cleared by he PRBs O
he remaining 91 deainees 33 have already been cleared or ranser and do no require
a PRB en deainees who have eiher already been conviced in or are acing miliary
commission rials should no be prioriized or PRBs O he remaining 48 7 deainees
are awaiing he final decision in heir PRBs and 3 have already had a PRB hearing haresuled in recommended coninued law o war deenion10
Ta leaves 38 deainees Conducing a PRB or each o hem by he July 1 deadline
clearly would be a massive increase in he rae o hearings o dae bu i should no be
an insurmounable ask or an adminisraion ha insiss ha i is commited o closing
Guananamo during Presiden Obamarsquos erm in office ldquoor die ryingrdquo11 As o now only our
more PRBs are scheduled991252and only one is scheduled in he enire monh o February
Accelerate foreign transfers
Te overriding concern going ino he mos recen congressional debae abou
Guananamo provisions in he 2016 Naional Deense Auhorizaion Ac or NDAA was
ha he now Republican-conrolled Congress would enac more severe ranser resric-
ions han i had in 2014 Tis would have made i impossible o move deainees ou o
Guananamo Several Republican senaors inroduced legislaion early in 2015 ha was
inended o do jus ha12 And early versions o he fiscal year 2016 NDAA did include
language ha would have required he secreary o deense o ldquoensure hardquo any counry
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 48
4 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
receiving a Guananamo deainee preven ha deainee rom hreaening he Unied
Saes or engaging in erroris aciviy13 Ta sandard was deemed virually impossible
o mee when i was in effec beween 2011 and 2014 and was he primary cause o he
virual shudown o ransers during ha period14
In he final 2016 NDAA enaced in December however he oreign ranser provi-
sions were modified o require only cerificaion ha receiving counries ldquosubsaniallymiigaerdquo any hrea posed by Guananamo deainees15 Tus he FY 2016 bill basically
preserved he FY 2015 saus quo on condiions on ransers991252alhough i added abso-
lue ranser bans or a ew specific counries Te Obama adminisraion has already
ranserred 16 deainees under hese new requiremens
Tose ransers will be welcome bu here would sill be 33 deainees already cleared
or ranser who were sill in deenion and many more likely added o ha caegory
hrough he PRB process We have seen burss o ranser aciviy in he pas such as
he 27 deainees moved ou o Guananamo in 10 weeks rom November 2014 hrough
January 201516
Bu only 13 more ransers ollowed ha spike in he nex 11 monhso 201517 I here is any hope o closing Guananamo beore Presiden Obama leaves
office he pace o ransers expeced his monh mus coninue hroughou he year
Instruct the Depar tment of Justice to review potential criminal
charges against the uncleared detainees as soon as possible
Te congressional ban on ransers o Guananamo deainees o he Unied Saes has
cu off he mos effecive venue o prosecue suspeced erroriss Foreign erroris
suspecs capured overseas have been brough o he Unied Saes or rial wih relaiverequency hroughou he Obama adminisraion wih none o he conroversy associ-
aed wih Guananamo deainees wo recen high-profile examples are he convicion
o Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law in New York and he ongoing prosecuion in Virginia
o he alleged ringleader o he Benghazi atack18
Te one ormer Guananamo deainee brough o rial in a ederal cour Ahmed
Ghailani was conviced and is now serving a lie senence in a US prison or his role in
he 1998 Eas Arican Embassy bombings19 Bu no oher deainees have been brough
o rial since he 2010 congressional ban Te Obama adminisraion should insruc he
Deparmen o Jusice o immediaely review any poenial criminal charges which could
be brough agains Guananamo deainees no currenly designaed or ranser eiher by
he 2010 ask orce deerminaion or a PRB
Bringing such charges in ederal cour is a much beter pah o poenially overcome he
US ranser ban han doing so by unilaeral execuive acion Once charges are filed he
governmen could ask he judge o order he deendan o be brough ino he Unied
Saes o ace he charges agains him Te indiced Guananamo deainee would be eni-
led o agree or objec o such a ranser Te ederal judge would have o decide on he
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 58
5 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
lawulness o he ranser ban in a specific case where he governmen wans o prosecue
a deendan in US cusody who could oherwise no be prosecued and would have o
be released a he end o he conflic consisen wih he law o war
Pursue agreement with affected countries for other prosecutions
Seeking judicial acion o bring Guananamo deainees ino he Unied Saes o sand
rial migh no succeed In preparaion or ha possibiliy he Obama adminisraion
should also immediaely begin negoiaions on he possibiliy o ranserring some
Guananamo deainees o sand rial in oher counries Te mos likely candidae would
be Riduan Isamuddin beter known as Hambali He is an Indonesian associaed wih
boh Jamaa Islamiyya and Al Qaeda and is believed o be responsible or a series o
deadly bombings in Souheas Asia including he 2002 Bali bombing ha kil led more
han 200 people including 9 Americans20
I would be preerable o course or American jusice o be rendered on he murdero nine Americans Bu he US ranser ban may preven a rial in a US cour and he
Guananamo miliary commissions are so hopelessly bogged down in he cases hey are
already handling ha expecing anoher rial in ha orum may be oolish
Bu i Congress prevens a US rial jusice or he vicims o hese atacks need no
be denied orever Tere are a leas wo possible counries ha migh prosecue
Hambali991252Indonesia or Ausralia Indonesia is his counry o naionaliy and Bali he
locaion o he deadlies o his alleged atacks And 88 Ausralians were killed in ha
atack more han any oher naionaliy21
wo oher associaes o Hambali are also held a Guananamo Tey were capured in
Tailand in 2003 by Tai auhoriies and hen ranserred ino US cusody22 I is possible
ha hese wo also could be prosecued or heir acions in counries wih jurisdicion over
heir alleged crimes Tere are a handul o oher deainees capured ar rom he batle-
fields in Aghanisan ha also could be candidaes or hird counry prosecuion
Transfer Afghan War detainees to Afghan custody
Even i all o he opions oulined above are successul over he course o he year i is
virually cerain ha a leas some deainees will remain in law o war deenion Tese
deainees will no be candidaes or prosecuion in any orum nor or resetlemen in
oher counries hrough he radiional ranser process I he prohibiion on ranser
o he Unied Saes remains in effec he Obama adminisraion should begin negoia-
ions wih he Aghan governmen o ranser o is cusody hose Guananamo deain-
ees capured in connecion wih he Aghanisan War Doing so would be consisen
wih curren US policy in Aghanisan regarding deenion
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 68
6 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
While his opion has no been publicly discussed i is only he peculiariy o Guananamo
isel ha makes i seem unusual I he Bush adminisraion had no chosen o remove
hese deainees rom he ldquoA-Pakrdquo heaer in which hey were capured when Guananamo
was creaed mosly in 2002 and 2003 hen hese deainees never would have lef a
all ransers o Guananamo slowed markedly in he mid-2000s and mos individuals
deained by US orces in he A-Pak heaer were in ac kep in deenion here
In 2012 he Unied Saes enered ino a memorandum o undersanding wih he
governmen o Aghanisan o ranser conrol o all US deenion aciliies and cusody
o all US-held deainees in Aghanisan23 Non-Aghan deainees held in Aghanisan
by he Unied Saes so-called hird counry naionals became a sicking poin in he
negoiaions over he ransers o aciliies and cusody24 Tis was ulimaely resolved
wih an addiional agreemen negoiaed in 2014 as par o he US-Aghanisan Bilaeral
Securiy Agreemen25 In ha agreemen Aghanisan commited o a process o review
periodically he cases o hose deainees held in law o war deenion and make is deen-
ion regime consisen wih inernaional humaniarian law and all o Aghanisanrsquos iner-
naional obligaions ldquowih respec o humane reamen and applicable due processrdquo
Pursuan o ha agreemen all Aghan and hird counry naional deainees held by
he Unied Saes in Aghanisan were ranserred o Aghan cusody by December
2014 In essence ranserring deainees o he Aghan governmen who were capured
in connecion wih he war in Aghanisan bu held in Guananamo and who will no
be prosecued would complee he policy process begun wih he 2012 memorandum
o undersanding26
Te Obama adminisraion may have considered his opion in he pas and rejeced i
given he ofen raugh relaionship wih he previous Aghan presiden Hamid Karzaiparicularly around he issue o deenion Te Unied Saes enjoys a much sronger
working relaionship wih new Aghan Presiden Ashra Ghani And he Obama admin-
israion has increased leverage wih is Aghan counerpars afer delaying he draw-
down o US roops in Aghanisan in 2015 afer a direc appeal rom Presiden Ghani
ranserring hird counry naionals back o Aghanisan likely would generae criicism
I is vial ha any such ransers be consisen wih all obligaions under inernaional
law Tey could no proceed unless i is absoluely clear ha he deainees will no be
misreaed in Aghan cusody Bu any oher concerns mus be weighed agains he real
prospec ha i Presiden Obama ails o close Guananamo hese deainees will be
suck in Guananamo or years o come and here may very well be new deainees sen
here as well A his juncure he pahway or resolving he cases o law o war deainees
ranserred o Aghanisan is clearer han i is or any who migh be lef a Guananamo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 78
7 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Conclusion
I is easy o be pessimisic abou he prospecs or closing Guananamo during he Obama
adminisraion Posiions have hardened on all sides seemingly insurmounable obsacles
are in he pah o closure and he debae has gone sale Wha is needed now is resh hink-
ing and new energy behind he goal o closing Guananamo One year is sill a long ime
Alernaives o he curren sandoff do exis Guananamorsquos 15h year can be is las
Ken Gude is a Senior Fellow with the National Security team at the Center for American
Progress
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 88
8 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Endnotes
1 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031 114th Cong 1st sess (January 62015) available at httpswwwgpogovfdsyspkgBILLS-114s1356enrpdfBILLS-114s1356enrpdf
2 Eli Lake and Josh Rogin ldquoPresident Not Bluffing on ClosingGuantanamordquo Tulsa World January 19 2016 availableat httpwwwtulsaworldcomhomepagelatesteli-
lake-and-josh-rogin-president-not-bluffing-on-closingarticle_2b526fc4-24a7-5dbf-ad66-73f4dc4a5ef5html
3 WJ Hennigan ldquoTransfer of 10 Prisoners Brings GuantanamoPopulation Below 100rdquo Los Angeles Times January 14 2016available at httpwwwlatimescomnationla-na-guanta-namo-bay-transfers-20160114-storyhtml
4 For the $4 million per year statistic see Andrew V PestanoldquoObama Chief of Staff Wersquore Going to Close GuantanamoBayrdquo UPI January 11 2016 available at httpwwwupicom Top_NewsUS20160111Obamas-Chief-of-Staff-Were-going-to-close-Guantanamo-Bay1021452520817 For theless than $100000 per inmate statistic see Solitary WatchldquoThe High Cost of Solitary Confinementrdquo (2011) availableat httpsolitarywatchcomwp-contentuploads201106fact-sheet-the-high-cost-of-solitary-confinementpdf
5 US Department of Justice and others Final ReportGuantanamo Review Task Force (2010) available at http
wwwjusticegovsitesdefaultfilesaglegacy20100602guantanamo-review-final-reportpdf
6 Miami Herald ldquoGuantaacutenamo By the Numbersrdquo January 142016 available at httpwwwmiamiheraldcomnewsnation-worldworldamericasguantanamoarticle2163210html
7 Office of the Press Secretary ldquoExecutive Order 13567 PeriodicReview of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo Bayrdquo Pressrelease March 7 2011 available at httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20110307executive-order-13567-pe-riodic-review-individuals-detained-guant-namo-ba
8 US Department of Defense ldquoPeriodic Review SecretariatInitial Reviewrdquo available at httpwwwprsmilReviewInfor-mationInitialReviewaspx (last accessed January 2016)
9 Ibid
10 Ibid
11 Gabrielle Levy ldquoGitmo Threat Still Hangs Over New DefenseBillrdquo US News amp World Report November 4 2015 availableat httpwwwusnewscomnewsarticles20151104gitmo-threat-still-hangs-over-new-defense-bill
12 Jeremy Herb ldquoGOP Senators Move to Keep Gitmo OpenrdquoPolitico January 13 2015 available at httpwwwpoliticocomstory201501republican-senators-guantana-mo-114223
13 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 HRept 1735 Sec 1039 114 Cong 1 sess (Congressgov2015) available at httpswwwcongressgovbill114th-congresshouse-bill1735texteh
14 Associated Press ldquoTransfers of prisoners from GuantanamoBay have all but stoppedrdquo CBS News September 30 2014available at httpwwwcbsnewscomnewstransfers-of-prisoners-from-guantanamo-bay-have-all-but-stopped
15 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031
16 Wikipedia org ldquoTimeline of the Release and Transfer of Guan-tanamo Bay Detaineesrdquo available at httpsenwikipediaorgwikiTimeline_of_the_release_and_transfer_of_Guanta-namo_Bay_detainees (last accessed January 2016)
17 Ibid
18 For the information on Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law seeBenjamin Weiser ldquoJurors Convict Abu Ghaith Bin Laden Son-in-Law in Terror Caserdquo The New York Times March 26 2014available at httpwwwnytimescom20140327nyregionbin-ladens-son-in-law-is-convicted-in-terror-trialhtml_r=0For the information on the alleged Benghazi ringleader seePaul Courson ldquoBenghazi Suspect Abu Khatallah Pleads NotGuiltyrdquo CNN October 20 2014 available at httpwwwcnncom20141020usabu-khatallah-benghazi
19 Benjamin Weiser ldquoEx-Detainee Gets Life Sentence in EmbassyBlastsrdquo The New York Times January 25 2011 available at httpwwwnytimescom20110126nyregion26ghailanihtml
20 Paul Toohey ldquoBali bombings terrorist Hambali yet toface trial after years in Guant aacutenamo Bayrdquo NewscomauNovember 28 2014 available at httpwwwnewscomauworldbali-bombings-terrorist-hambali-yet-to-face-trial-after-years-in-guantaacutenamo-baynews-story224c09c3323e947056af0068b0fec33e
21 BBC News ldquoAustralia Remembers 88 Killed in Bali BombingrdquoOctober 12 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19920643
22 Lee Shi-Ian ldquoMalaysian duo in Guantanamo to face tribunalrdquoAsiaOne January 23 2012 available at httpnewsasiaonecomNewsAsiaOne2BNewsMalaysiaStoryA1S-tory20120123-323490html
23 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of America
On Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo March 9 2012 available at httpmfagovafennews7671
24 BBC News ldquoAfghanistan US hands over controversial Ba-gram jailrdquo September 10 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19539412
25 Richard Sisk ldquoUS Military Hands Over Last 3 Prisoners inAfghanistanrdquo Militarycom December 10 2014 available athttpwwwmilitarycomdaily-news20141210us-hands-off-last-3-us-held-prisoners-in-afghanistanhtml
26 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of AmericaOn Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 48
4 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
receiving a Guananamo deainee preven ha deainee rom hreaening he Unied
Saes or engaging in erroris aciviy13 Ta sandard was deemed virually impossible
o mee when i was in effec beween 2011 and 2014 and was he primary cause o he
virual shudown o ransers during ha period14
In he final 2016 NDAA enaced in December however he oreign ranser provi-
sions were modified o require only cerificaion ha receiving counries ldquosubsaniallymiigaerdquo any hrea posed by Guananamo deainees15 Tus he FY 2016 bill basically
preserved he FY 2015 saus quo on condiions on ransers991252alhough i added abso-
lue ranser bans or a ew specific counries Te Obama adminisraion has already
ranserred 16 deainees under hese new requiremens
Tose ransers will be welcome bu here would sill be 33 deainees already cleared
or ranser who were sill in deenion and many more likely added o ha caegory
hrough he PRB process We have seen burss o ranser aciviy in he pas such as
he 27 deainees moved ou o Guananamo in 10 weeks rom November 2014 hrough
January 201516
Bu only 13 more ransers ollowed ha spike in he nex 11 monhso 201517 I here is any hope o closing Guananamo beore Presiden Obama leaves
office he pace o ransers expeced his monh mus coninue hroughou he year
Instruct the Depar tment of Justice to review potential criminal
charges against the uncleared detainees as soon as possible
Te congressional ban on ransers o Guananamo deainees o he Unied Saes has
cu off he mos effecive venue o prosecue suspeced erroriss Foreign erroris
suspecs capured overseas have been brough o he Unied Saes or rial wih relaiverequency hroughou he Obama adminisraion wih none o he conroversy associ-
aed wih Guananamo deainees wo recen high-profile examples are he convicion
o Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law in New York and he ongoing prosecuion in Virginia
o he alleged ringleader o he Benghazi atack18
Te one ormer Guananamo deainee brough o rial in a ederal cour Ahmed
Ghailani was conviced and is now serving a lie senence in a US prison or his role in
he 1998 Eas Arican Embassy bombings19 Bu no oher deainees have been brough
o rial since he 2010 congressional ban Te Obama adminisraion should insruc he
Deparmen o Jusice o immediaely review any poenial criminal charges which could
be brough agains Guananamo deainees no currenly designaed or ranser eiher by
he 2010 ask orce deerminaion or a PRB
Bringing such charges in ederal cour is a much beter pah o poenially overcome he
US ranser ban han doing so by unilaeral execuive acion Once charges are filed he
governmen could ask he judge o order he deendan o be brough ino he Unied
Saes o ace he charges agains him Te indiced Guananamo deainee would be eni-
led o agree or objec o such a ranser Te ederal judge would have o decide on he
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 58
5 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
lawulness o he ranser ban in a specific case where he governmen wans o prosecue
a deendan in US cusody who could oherwise no be prosecued and would have o
be released a he end o he conflic consisen wih he law o war
Pursue agreement with affected countries for other prosecutions
Seeking judicial acion o bring Guananamo deainees ino he Unied Saes o sand
rial migh no succeed In preparaion or ha possibiliy he Obama adminisraion
should also immediaely begin negoiaions on he possibiliy o ranserring some
Guananamo deainees o sand rial in oher counries Te mos likely candidae would
be Riduan Isamuddin beter known as Hambali He is an Indonesian associaed wih
boh Jamaa Islamiyya and Al Qaeda and is believed o be responsible or a series o
deadly bombings in Souheas Asia including he 2002 Bali bombing ha kil led more
han 200 people including 9 Americans20
I would be preerable o course or American jusice o be rendered on he murdero nine Americans Bu he US ranser ban may preven a rial in a US cour and he
Guananamo miliary commissions are so hopelessly bogged down in he cases hey are
already handling ha expecing anoher rial in ha orum may be oolish
Bu i Congress prevens a US rial jusice or he vicims o hese atacks need no
be denied orever Tere are a leas wo possible counries ha migh prosecue
Hambali991252Indonesia or Ausralia Indonesia is his counry o naionaliy and Bali he
locaion o he deadlies o his alleged atacks And 88 Ausralians were killed in ha
atack more han any oher naionaliy21
wo oher associaes o Hambali are also held a Guananamo Tey were capured in
Tailand in 2003 by Tai auhoriies and hen ranserred ino US cusody22 I is possible
ha hese wo also could be prosecued or heir acions in counries wih jurisdicion over
heir alleged crimes Tere are a handul o oher deainees capured ar rom he batle-
fields in Aghanisan ha also could be candidaes or hird counry prosecuion
Transfer Afghan War detainees to Afghan custody
Even i all o he opions oulined above are successul over he course o he year i is
virually cerain ha a leas some deainees will remain in law o war deenion Tese
deainees will no be candidaes or prosecuion in any orum nor or resetlemen in
oher counries hrough he radiional ranser process I he prohibiion on ranser
o he Unied Saes remains in effec he Obama adminisraion should begin negoia-
ions wih he Aghan governmen o ranser o is cusody hose Guananamo deain-
ees capured in connecion wih he Aghanisan War Doing so would be consisen
wih curren US policy in Aghanisan regarding deenion
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 68
6 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
While his opion has no been publicly discussed i is only he peculiariy o Guananamo
isel ha makes i seem unusual I he Bush adminisraion had no chosen o remove
hese deainees rom he ldquoA-Pakrdquo heaer in which hey were capured when Guananamo
was creaed mosly in 2002 and 2003 hen hese deainees never would have lef a
all ransers o Guananamo slowed markedly in he mid-2000s and mos individuals
deained by US orces in he A-Pak heaer were in ac kep in deenion here
In 2012 he Unied Saes enered ino a memorandum o undersanding wih he
governmen o Aghanisan o ranser conrol o all US deenion aciliies and cusody
o all US-held deainees in Aghanisan23 Non-Aghan deainees held in Aghanisan
by he Unied Saes so-called hird counry naionals became a sicking poin in he
negoiaions over he ransers o aciliies and cusody24 Tis was ulimaely resolved
wih an addiional agreemen negoiaed in 2014 as par o he US-Aghanisan Bilaeral
Securiy Agreemen25 In ha agreemen Aghanisan commited o a process o review
periodically he cases o hose deainees held in law o war deenion and make is deen-
ion regime consisen wih inernaional humaniarian law and all o Aghanisanrsquos iner-
naional obligaions ldquowih respec o humane reamen and applicable due processrdquo
Pursuan o ha agreemen all Aghan and hird counry naional deainees held by
he Unied Saes in Aghanisan were ranserred o Aghan cusody by December
2014 In essence ranserring deainees o he Aghan governmen who were capured
in connecion wih he war in Aghanisan bu held in Guananamo and who will no
be prosecued would complee he policy process begun wih he 2012 memorandum
o undersanding26
Te Obama adminisraion may have considered his opion in he pas and rejeced i
given he ofen raugh relaionship wih he previous Aghan presiden Hamid Karzaiparicularly around he issue o deenion Te Unied Saes enjoys a much sronger
working relaionship wih new Aghan Presiden Ashra Ghani And he Obama admin-
israion has increased leverage wih is Aghan counerpars afer delaying he draw-
down o US roops in Aghanisan in 2015 afer a direc appeal rom Presiden Ghani
ranserring hird counry naionals back o Aghanisan likely would generae criicism
I is vial ha any such ransers be consisen wih all obligaions under inernaional
law Tey could no proceed unless i is absoluely clear ha he deainees will no be
misreaed in Aghan cusody Bu any oher concerns mus be weighed agains he real
prospec ha i Presiden Obama ails o close Guananamo hese deainees will be
suck in Guananamo or years o come and here may very well be new deainees sen
here as well A his juncure he pahway or resolving he cases o law o war deainees
ranserred o Aghanisan is clearer han i is or any who migh be lef a Guananamo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 78
7 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Conclusion
I is easy o be pessimisic abou he prospecs or closing Guananamo during he Obama
adminisraion Posiions have hardened on all sides seemingly insurmounable obsacles
are in he pah o closure and he debae has gone sale Wha is needed now is resh hink-
ing and new energy behind he goal o closing Guananamo One year is sill a long ime
Alernaives o he curren sandoff do exis Guananamorsquos 15h year can be is las
Ken Gude is a Senior Fellow with the National Security team at the Center for American
Progress
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 88
8 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Endnotes
1 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031 114th Cong 1st sess (January 62015) available at httpswwwgpogovfdsyspkgBILLS-114s1356enrpdfBILLS-114s1356enrpdf
2 Eli Lake and Josh Rogin ldquoPresident Not Bluffing on ClosingGuantanamordquo Tulsa World January 19 2016 availableat httpwwwtulsaworldcomhomepagelatesteli-
lake-and-josh-rogin-president-not-bluffing-on-closingarticle_2b526fc4-24a7-5dbf-ad66-73f4dc4a5ef5html
3 WJ Hennigan ldquoTransfer of 10 Prisoners Brings GuantanamoPopulation Below 100rdquo Los Angeles Times January 14 2016available at httpwwwlatimescomnationla-na-guanta-namo-bay-transfers-20160114-storyhtml
4 For the $4 million per year statistic see Andrew V PestanoldquoObama Chief of Staff Wersquore Going to Close GuantanamoBayrdquo UPI January 11 2016 available at httpwwwupicom Top_NewsUS20160111Obamas-Chief-of-Staff-Were-going-to-close-Guantanamo-Bay1021452520817 For theless than $100000 per inmate statistic see Solitary WatchldquoThe High Cost of Solitary Confinementrdquo (2011) availableat httpsolitarywatchcomwp-contentuploads201106fact-sheet-the-high-cost-of-solitary-confinementpdf
5 US Department of Justice and others Final ReportGuantanamo Review Task Force (2010) available at http
wwwjusticegovsitesdefaultfilesaglegacy20100602guantanamo-review-final-reportpdf
6 Miami Herald ldquoGuantaacutenamo By the Numbersrdquo January 142016 available at httpwwwmiamiheraldcomnewsnation-worldworldamericasguantanamoarticle2163210html
7 Office of the Press Secretary ldquoExecutive Order 13567 PeriodicReview of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo Bayrdquo Pressrelease March 7 2011 available at httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20110307executive-order-13567-pe-riodic-review-individuals-detained-guant-namo-ba
8 US Department of Defense ldquoPeriodic Review SecretariatInitial Reviewrdquo available at httpwwwprsmilReviewInfor-mationInitialReviewaspx (last accessed January 2016)
9 Ibid
10 Ibid
11 Gabrielle Levy ldquoGitmo Threat Still Hangs Over New DefenseBillrdquo US News amp World Report November 4 2015 availableat httpwwwusnewscomnewsarticles20151104gitmo-threat-still-hangs-over-new-defense-bill
12 Jeremy Herb ldquoGOP Senators Move to Keep Gitmo OpenrdquoPolitico January 13 2015 available at httpwwwpoliticocomstory201501republican-senators-guantana-mo-114223
13 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 HRept 1735 Sec 1039 114 Cong 1 sess (Congressgov2015) available at httpswwwcongressgovbill114th-congresshouse-bill1735texteh
14 Associated Press ldquoTransfers of prisoners from GuantanamoBay have all but stoppedrdquo CBS News September 30 2014available at httpwwwcbsnewscomnewstransfers-of-prisoners-from-guantanamo-bay-have-all-but-stopped
15 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031
16 Wikipedia org ldquoTimeline of the Release and Transfer of Guan-tanamo Bay Detaineesrdquo available at httpsenwikipediaorgwikiTimeline_of_the_release_and_transfer_of_Guanta-namo_Bay_detainees (last accessed January 2016)
17 Ibid
18 For the information on Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law seeBenjamin Weiser ldquoJurors Convict Abu Ghaith Bin Laden Son-in-Law in Terror Caserdquo The New York Times March 26 2014available at httpwwwnytimescom20140327nyregionbin-ladens-son-in-law-is-convicted-in-terror-trialhtml_r=0For the information on the alleged Benghazi ringleader seePaul Courson ldquoBenghazi Suspect Abu Khatallah Pleads NotGuiltyrdquo CNN October 20 2014 available at httpwwwcnncom20141020usabu-khatallah-benghazi
19 Benjamin Weiser ldquoEx-Detainee Gets Life Sentence in EmbassyBlastsrdquo The New York Times January 25 2011 available at httpwwwnytimescom20110126nyregion26ghailanihtml
20 Paul Toohey ldquoBali bombings terrorist Hambali yet toface trial after years in Guant aacutenamo Bayrdquo NewscomauNovember 28 2014 available at httpwwwnewscomauworldbali-bombings-terrorist-hambali-yet-to-face-trial-after-years-in-guantaacutenamo-baynews-story224c09c3323e947056af0068b0fec33e
21 BBC News ldquoAustralia Remembers 88 Killed in Bali BombingrdquoOctober 12 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19920643
22 Lee Shi-Ian ldquoMalaysian duo in Guantanamo to face tribunalrdquoAsiaOne January 23 2012 available at httpnewsasiaonecomNewsAsiaOne2BNewsMalaysiaStoryA1S-tory20120123-323490html
23 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of America
On Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo March 9 2012 available at httpmfagovafennews7671
24 BBC News ldquoAfghanistan US hands over controversial Ba-gram jailrdquo September 10 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19539412
25 Richard Sisk ldquoUS Military Hands Over Last 3 Prisoners inAfghanistanrdquo Militarycom December 10 2014 available athttpwwwmilitarycomdaily-news20141210us-hands-off-last-3-us-held-prisoners-in-afghanistanhtml
26 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of AmericaOn Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 58
5 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
lawulness o he ranser ban in a specific case where he governmen wans o prosecue
a deendan in US cusody who could oherwise no be prosecued and would have o
be released a he end o he conflic consisen wih he law o war
Pursue agreement with affected countries for other prosecutions
Seeking judicial acion o bring Guananamo deainees ino he Unied Saes o sand
rial migh no succeed In preparaion or ha possibiliy he Obama adminisraion
should also immediaely begin negoiaions on he possibiliy o ranserring some
Guananamo deainees o sand rial in oher counries Te mos likely candidae would
be Riduan Isamuddin beter known as Hambali He is an Indonesian associaed wih
boh Jamaa Islamiyya and Al Qaeda and is believed o be responsible or a series o
deadly bombings in Souheas Asia including he 2002 Bali bombing ha kil led more
han 200 people including 9 Americans20
I would be preerable o course or American jusice o be rendered on he murdero nine Americans Bu he US ranser ban may preven a rial in a US cour and he
Guananamo miliary commissions are so hopelessly bogged down in he cases hey are
already handling ha expecing anoher rial in ha orum may be oolish
Bu i Congress prevens a US rial jusice or he vicims o hese atacks need no
be denied orever Tere are a leas wo possible counries ha migh prosecue
Hambali991252Indonesia or Ausralia Indonesia is his counry o naionaliy and Bali he
locaion o he deadlies o his alleged atacks And 88 Ausralians were killed in ha
atack more han any oher naionaliy21
wo oher associaes o Hambali are also held a Guananamo Tey were capured in
Tailand in 2003 by Tai auhoriies and hen ranserred ino US cusody22 I is possible
ha hese wo also could be prosecued or heir acions in counries wih jurisdicion over
heir alleged crimes Tere are a handul o oher deainees capured ar rom he batle-
fields in Aghanisan ha also could be candidaes or hird counry prosecuion
Transfer Afghan War detainees to Afghan custody
Even i all o he opions oulined above are successul over he course o he year i is
virually cerain ha a leas some deainees will remain in law o war deenion Tese
deainees will no be candidaes or prosecuion in any orum nor or resetlemen in
oher counries hrough he radiional ranser process I he prohibiion on ranser
o he Unied Saes remains in effec he Obama adminisraion should begin negoia-
ions wih he Aghan governmen o ranser o is cusody hose Guananamo deain-
ees capured in connecion wih he Aghanisan War Doing so would be consisen
wih curren US policy in Aghanisan regarding deenion
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 68
6 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
While his opion has no been publicly discussed i is only he peculiariy o Guananamo
isel ha makes i seem unusual I he Bush adminisraion had no chosen o remove
hese deainees rom he ldquoA-Pakrdquo heaer in which hey were capured when Guananamo
was creaed mosly in 2002 and 2003 hen hese deainees never would have lef a
all ransers o Guananamo slowed markedly in he mid-2000s and mos individuals
deained by US orces in he A-Pak heaer were in ac kep in deenion here
In 2012 he Unied Saes enered ino a memorandum o undersanding wih he
governmen o Aghanisan o ranser conrol o all US deenion aciliies and cusody
o all US-held deainees in Aghanisan23 Non-Aghan deainees held in Aghanisan
by he Unied Saes so-called hird counry naionals became a sicking poin in he
negoiaions over he ransers o aciliies and cusody24 Tis was ulimaely resolved
wih an addiional agreemen negoiaed in 2014 as par o he US-Aghanisan Bilaeral
Securiy Agreemen25 In ha agreemen Aghanisan commited o a process o review
periodically he cases o hose deainees held in law o war deenion and make is deen-
ion regime consisen wih inernaional humaniarian law and all o Aghanisanrsquos iner-
naional obligaions ldquowih respec o humane reamen and applicable due processrdquo
Pursuan o ha agreemen all Aghan and hird counry naional deainees held by
he Unied Saes in Aghanisan were ranserred o Aghan cusody by December
2014 In essence ranserring deainees o he Aghan governmen who were capured
in connecion wih he war in Aghanisan bu held in Guananamo and who will no
be prosecued would complee he policy process begun wih he 2012 memorandum
o undersanding26
Te Obama adminisraion may have considered his opion in he pas and rejeced i
given he ofen raugh relaionship wih he previous Aghan presiden Hamid Karzaiparicularly around he issue o deenion Te Unied Saes enjoys a much sronger
working relaionship wih new Aghan Presiden Ashra Ghani And he Obama admin-
israion has increased leverage wih is Aghan counerpars afer delaying he draw-
down o US roops in Aghanisan in 2015 afer a direc appeal rom Presiden Ghani
ranserring hird counry naionals back o Aghanisan likely would generae criicism
I is vial ha any such ransers be consisen wih all obligaions under inernaional
law Tey could no proceed unless i is absoluely clear ha he deainees will no be
misreaed in Aghan cusody Bu any oher concerns mus be weighed agains he real
prospec ha i Presiden Obama ails o close Guananamo hese deainees will be
suck in Guananamo or years o come and here may very well be new deainees sen
here as well A his juncure he pahway or resolving he cases o law o war deainees
ranserred o Aghanisan is clearer han i is or any who migh be lef a Guananamo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 78
7 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Conclusion
I is easy o be pessimisic abou he prospecs or closing Guananamo during he Obama
adminisraion Posiions have hardened on all sides seemingly insurmounable obsacles
are in he pah o closure and he debae has gone sale Wha is needed now is resh hink-
ing and new energy behind he goal o closing Guananamo One year is sill a long ime
Alernaives o he curren sandoff do exis Guananamorsquos 15h year can be is las
Ken Gude is a Senior Fellow with the National Security team at the Center for American
Progress
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 88
8 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Endnotes
1 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031 114th Cong 1st sess (January 62015) available at httpswwwgpogovfdsyspkgBILLS-114s1356enrpdfBILLS-114s1356enrpdf
2 Eli Lake and Josh Rogin ldquoPresident Not Bluffing on ClosingGuantanamordquo Tulsa World January 19 2016 availableat httpwwwtulsaworldcomhomepagelatesteli-
lake-and-josh-rogin-president-not-bluffing-on-closingarticle_2b526fc4-24a7-5dbf-ad66-73f4dc4a5ef5html
3 WJ Hennigan ldquoTransfer of 10 Prisoners Brings GuantanamoPopulation Below 100rdquo Los Angeles Times January 14 2016available at httpwwwlatimescomnationla-na-guanta-namo-bay-transfers-20160114-storyhtml
4 For the $4 million per year statistic see Andrew V PestanoldquoObama Chief of Staff Wersquore Going to Close GuantanamoBayrdquo UPI January 11 2016 available at httpwwwupicom Top_NewsUS20160111Obamas-Chief-of-Staff-Were-going-to-close-Guantanamo-Bay1021452520817 For theless than $100000 per inmate statistic see Solitary WatchldquoThe High Cost of Solitary Confinementrdquo (2011) availableat httpsolitarywatchcomwp-contentuploads201106fact-sheet-the-high-cost-of-solitary-confinementpdf
5 US Department of Justice and others Final ReportGuantanamo Review Task Force (2010) available at http
wwwjusticegovsitesdefaultfilesaglegacy20100602guantanamo-review-final-reportpdf
6 Miami Herald ldquoGuantaacutenamo By the Numbersrdquo January 142016 available at httpwwwmiamiheraldcomnewsnation-worldworldamericasguantanamoarticle2163210html
7 Office of the Press Secretary ldquoExecutive Order 13567 PeriodicReview of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo Bayrdquo Pressrelease March 7 2011 available at httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20110307executive-order-13567-pe-riodic-review-individuals-detained-guant-namo-ba
8 US Department of Defense ldquoPeriodic Review SecretariatInitial Reviewrdquo available at httpwwwprsmilReviewInfor-mationInitialReviewaspx (last accessed January 2016)
9 Ibid
10 Ibid
11 Gabrielle Levy ldquoGitmo Threat Still Hangs Over New DefenseBillrdquo US News amp World Report November 4 2015 availableat httpwwwusnewscomnewsarticles20151104gitmo-threat-still-hangs-over-new-defense-bill
12 Jeremy Herb ldquoGOP Senators Move to Keep Gitmo OpenrdquoPolitico January 13 2015 available at httpwwwpoliticocomstory201501republican-senators-guantana-mo-114223
13 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 HRept 1735 Sec 1039 114 Cong 1 sess (Congressgov2015) available at httpswwwcongressgovbill114th-congresshouse-bill1735texteh
14 Associated Press ldquoTransfers of prisoners from GuantanamoBay have all but stoppedrdquo CBS News September 30 2014available at httpwwwcbsnewscomnewstransfers-of-prisoners-from-guantanamo-bay-have-all-but-stopped
15 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031
16 Wikipedia org ldquoTimeline of the Release and Transfer of Guan-tanamo Bay Detaineesrdquo available at httpsenwikipediaorgwikiTimeline_of_the_release_and_transfer_of_Guanta-namo_Bay_detainees (last accessed January 2016)
17 Ibid
18 For the information on Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law seeBenjamin Weiser ldquoJurors Convict Abu Ghaith Bin Laden Son-in-Law in Terror Caserdquo The New York Times March 26 2014available at httpwwwnytimescom20140327nyregionbin-ladens-son-in-law-is-convicted-in-terror-trialhtml_r=0For the information on the alleged Benghazi ringleader seePaul Courson ldquoBenghazi Suspect Abu Khatallah Pleads NotGuiltyrdquo CNN October 20 2014 available at httpwwwcnncom20141020usabu-khatallah-benghazi
19 Benjamin Weiser ldquoEx-Detainee Gets Life Sentence in EmbassyBlastsrdquo The New York Times January 25 2011 available at httpwwwnytimescom20110126nyregion26ghailanihtml
20 Paul Toohey ldquoBali bombings terrorist Hambali yet toface trial after years in Guant aacutenamo Bayrdquo NewscomauNovember 28 2014 available at httpwwwnewscomauworldbali-bombings-terrorist-hambali-yet-to-face-trial-after-years-in-guantaacutenamo-baynews-story224c09c3323e947056af0068b0fec33e
21 BBC News ldquoAustralia Remembers 88 Killed in Bali BombingrdquoOctober 12 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19920643
22 Lee Shi-Ian ldquoMalaysian duo in Guantanamo to face tribunalrdquoAsiaOne January 23 2012 available at httpnewsasiaonecomNewsAsiaOne2BNewsMalaysiaStoryA1S-tory20120123-323490html
23 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of America
On Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo March 9 2012 available at httpmfagovafennews7671
24 BBC News ldquoAfghanistan US hands over controversial Ba-gram jailrdquo September 10 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19539412
25 Richard Sisk ldquoUS Military Hands Over Last 3 Prisoners inAfghanistanrdquo Militarycom December 10 2014 available athttpwwwmilitarycomdaily-news20141210us-hands-off-last-3-us-held-prisoners-in-afghanistanhtml
26 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of AmericaOn Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 68
6 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
While his opion has no been publicly discussed i is only he peculiariy o Guananamo
isel ha makes i seem unusual I he Bush adminisraion had no chosen o remove
hese deainees rom he ldquoA-Pakrdquo heaer in which hey were capured when Guananamo
was creaed mosly in 2002 and 2003 hen hese deainees never would have lef a
all ransers o Guananamo slowed markedly in he mid-2000s and mos individuals
deained by US orces in he A-Pak heaer were in ac kep in deenion here
In 2012 he Unied Saes enered ino a memorandum o undersanding wih he
governmen o Aghanisan o ranser conrol o all US deenion aciliies and cusody
o all US-held deainees in Aghanisan23 Non-Aghan deainees held in Aghanisan
by he Unied Saes so-called hird counry naionals became a sicking poin in he
negoiaions over he ransers o aciliies and cusody24 Tis was ulimaely resolved
wih an addiional agreemen negoiaed in 2014 as par o he US-Aghanisan Bilaeral
Securiy Agreemen25 In ha agreemen Aghanisan commited o a process o review
periodically he cases o hose deainees held in law o war deenion and make is deen-
ion regime consisen wih inernaional humaniarian law and all o Aghanisanrsquos iner-
naional obligaions ldquowih respec o humane reamen and applicable due processrdquo
Pursuan o ha agreemen all Aghan and hird counry naional deainees held by
he Unied Saes in Aghanisan were ranserred o Aghan cusody by December
2014 In essence ranserring deainees o he Aghan governmen who were capured
in connecion wih he war in Aghanisan bu held in Guananamo and who will no
be prosecued would complee he policy process begun wih he 2012 memorandum
o undersanding26
Te Obama adminisraion may have considered his opion in he pas and rejeced i
given he ofen raugh relaionship wih he previous Aghan presiden Hamid Karzaiparicularly around he issue o deenion Te Unied Saes enjoys a much sronger
working relaionship wih new Aghan Presiden Ashra Ghani And he Obama admin-
israion has increased leverage wih is Aghan counerpars afer delaying he draw-
down o US roops in Aghanisan in 2015 afer a direc appeal rom Presiden Ghani
ranserring hird counry naionals back o Aghanisan likely would generae criicism
I is vial ha any such ransers be consisen wih all obligaions under inernaional
law Tey could no proceed unless i is absoluely clear ha he deainees will no be
misreaed in Aghan cusody Bu any oher concerns mus be weighed agains he real
prospec ha i Presiden Obama ails o close Guananamo hese deainees will be
suck in Guananamo or years o come and here may very well be new deainees sen
here as well A his juncure he pahway or resolving he cases o law o war deainees
ranserred o Aghanisan is clearer han i is or any who migh be lef a Guananamo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 78
7 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Conclusion
I is easy o be pessimisic abou he prospecs or closing Guananamo during he Obama
adminisraion Posiions have hardened on all sides seemingly insurmounable obsacles
are in he pah o closure and he debae has gone sale Wha is needed now is resh hink-
ing and new energy behind he goal o closing Guananamo One year is sill a long ime
Alernaives o he curren sandoff do exis Guananamorsquos 15h year can be is las
Ken Gude is a Senior Fellow with the National Security team at the Center for American
Progress
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 88
8 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Endnotes
1 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031 114th Cong 1st sess (January 62015) available at httpswwwgpogovfdsyspkgBILLS-114s1356enrpdfBILLS-114s1356enrpdf
2 Eli Lake and Josh Rogin ldquoPresident Not Bluffing on ClosingGuantanamordquo Tulsa World January 19 2016 availableat httpwwwtulsaworldcomhomepagelatesteli-
lake-and-josh-rogin-president-not-bluffing-on-closingarticle_2b526fc4-24a7-5dbf-ad66-73f4dc4a5ef5html
3 WJ Hennigan ldquoTransfer of 10 Prisoners Brings GuantanamoPopulation Below 100rdquo Los Angeles Times January 14 2016available at httpwwwlatimescomnationla-na-guanta-namo-bay-transfers-20160114-storyhtml
4 For the $4 million per year statistic see Andrew V PestanoldquoObama Chief of Staff Wersquore Going to Close GuantanamoBayrdquo UPI January 11 2016 available at httpwwwupicom Top_NewsUS20160111Obamas-Chief-of-Staff-Were-going-to-close-Guantanamo-Bay1021452520817 For theless than $100000 per inmate statistic see Solitary WatchldquoThe High Cost of Solitary Confinementrdquo (2011) availableat httpsolitarywatchcomwp-contentuploads201106fact-sheet-the-high-cost-of-solitary-confinementpdf
5 US Department of Justice and others Final ReportGuantanamo Review Task Force (2010) available at http
wwwjusticegovsitesdefaultfilesaglegacy20100602guantanamo-review-final-reportpdf
6 Miami Herald ldquoGuantaacutenamo By the Numbersrdquo January 142016 available at httpwwwmiamiheraldcomnewsnation-worldworldamericasguantanamoarticle2163210html
7 Office of the Press Secretary ldquoExecutive Order 13567 PeriodicReview of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo Bayrdquo Pressrelease March 7 2011 available at httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20110307executive-order-13567-pe-riodic-review-individuals-detained-guant-namo-ba
8 US Department of Defense ldquoPeriodic Review SecretariatInitial Reviewrdquo available at httpwwwprsmilReviewInfor-mationInitialReviewaspx (last accessed January 2016)
9 Ibid
10 Ibid
11 Gabrielle Levy ldquoGitmo Threat Still Hangs Over New DefenseBillrdquo US News amp World Report November 4 2015 availableat httpwwwusnewscomnewsarticles20151104gitmo-threat-still-hangs-over-new-defense-bill
12 Jeremy Herb ldquoGOP Senators Move to Keep Gitmo OpenrdquoPolitico January 13 2015 available at httpwwwpoliticocomstory201501republican-senators-guantana-mo-114223
13 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 HRept 1735 Sec 1039 114 Cong 1 sess (Congressgov2015) available at httpswwwcongressgovbill114th-congresshouse-bill1735texteh
14 Associated Press ldquoTransfers of prisoners from GuantanamoBay have all but stoppedrdquo CBS News September 30 2014available at httpwwwcbsnewscomnewstransfers-of-prisoners-from-guantanamo-bay-have-all-but-stopped
15 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031
16 Wikipedia org ldquoTimeline of the Release and Transfer of Guan-tanamo Bay Detaineesrdquo available at httpsenwikipediaorgwikiTimeline_of_the_release_and_transfer_of_Guanta-namo_Bay_detainees (last accessed January 2016)
17 Ibid
18 For the information on Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law seeBenjamin Weiser ldquoJurors Convict Abu Ghaith Bin Laden Son-in-Law in Terror Caserdquo The New York Times March 26 2014available at httpwwwnytimescom20140327nyregionbin-ladens-son-in-law-is-convicted-in-terror-trialhtml_r=0For the information on the alleged Benghazi ringleader seePaul Courson ldquoBenghazi Suspect Abu Khatallah Pleads NotGuiltyrdquo CNN October 20 2014 available at httpwwwcnncom20141020usabu-khatallah-benghazi
19 Benjamin Weiser ldquoEx-Detainee Gets Life Sentence in EmbassyBlastsrdquo The New York Times January 25 2011 available at httpwwwnytimescom20110126nyregion26ghailanihtml
20 Paul Toohey ldquoBali bombings terrorist Hambali yet toface trial after years in Guant aacutenamo Bayrdquo NewscomauNovember 28 2014 available at httpwwwnewscomauworldbali-bombings-terrorist-hambali-yet-to-face-trial-after-years-in-guantaacutenamo-baynews-story224c09c3323e947056af0068b0fec33e
21 BBC News ldquoAustralia Remembers 88 Killed in Bali BombingrdquoOctober 12 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19920643
22 Lee Shi-Ian ldquoMalaysian duo in Guantanamo to face tribunalrdquoAsiaOne January 23 2012 available at httpnewsasiaonecomNewsAsiaOne2BNewsMalaysiaStoryA1S-tory20120123-323490html
23 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of America
On Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo March 9 2012 available at httpmfagovafennews7671
24 BBC News ldquoAfghanistan US hands over controversial Ba-gram jailrdquo September 10 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19539412
25 Richard Sisk ldquoUS Military Hands Over Last 3 Prisoners inAfghanistanrdquo Militarycom December 10 2014 available athttpwwwmilitarycomdaily-news20141210us-hands-off-last-3-us-held-prisoners-in-afghanistanhtml
26 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of AmericaOn Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 78
7 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Conclusion
I is easy o be pessimisic abou he prospecs or closing Guananamo during he Obama
adminisraion Posiions have hardened on all sides seemingly insurmounable obsacles
are in he pah o closure and he debae has gone sale Wha is needed now is resh hink-
ing and new energy behind he goal o closing Guananamo One year is sill a long ime
Alernaives o he curren sandoff do exis Guananamorsquos 15h year can be is las
Ken Gude is a Senior Fellow with the National Security team at the Center for American
Progress
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 88
8 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Endnotes
1 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031 114th Cong 1st sess (January 62015) available at httpswwwgpogovfdsyspkgBILLS-114s1356enrpdfBILLS-114s1356enrpdf
2 Eli Lake and Josh Rogin ldquoPresident Not Bluffing on ClosingGuantanamordquo Tulsa World January 19 2016 availableat httpwwwtulsaworldcomhomepagelatesteli-
lake-and-josh-rogin-president-not-bluffing-on-closingarticle_2b526fc4-24a7-5dbf-ad66-73f4dc4a5ef5html
3 WJ Hennigan ldquoTransfer of 10 Prisoners Brings GuantanamoPopulation Below 100rdquo Los Angeles Times January 14 2016available at httpwwwlatimescomnationla-na-guanta-namo-bay-transfers-20160114-storyhtml
4 For the $4 million per year statistic see Andrew V PestanoldquoObama Chief of Staff Wersquore Going to Close GuantanamoBayrdquo UPI January 11 2016 available at httpwwwupicom Top_NewsUS20160111Obamas-Chief-of-Staff-Were-going-to-close-Guantanamo-Bay1021452520817 For theless than $100000 per inmate statistic see Solitary WatchldquoThe High Cost of Solitary Confinementrdquo (2011) availableat httpsolitarywatchcomwp-contentuploads201106fact-sheet-the-high-cost-of-solitary-confinementpdf
5 US Department of Justice and others Final ReportGuantanamo Review Task Force (2010) available at http
wwwjusticegovsitesdefaultfilesaglegacy20100602guantanamo-review-final-reportpdf
6 Miami Herald ldquoGuantaacutenamo By the Numbersrdquo January 142016 available at httpwwwmiamiheraldcomnewsnation-worldworldamericasguantanamoarticle2163210html
7 Office of the Press Secretary ldquoExecutive Order 13567 PeriodicReview of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo Bayrdquo Pressrelease March 7 2011 available at httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20110307executive-order-13567-pe-riodic-review-individuals-detained-guant-namo-ba
8 US Department of Defense ldquoPeriodic Review SecretariatInitial Reviewrdquo available at httpwwwprsmilReviewInfor-mationInitialReviewaspx (last accessed January 2016)
9 Ibid
10 Ibid
11 Gabrielle Levy ldquoGitmo Threat Still Hangs Over New DefenseBillrdquo US News amp World Report November 4 2015 availableat httpwwwusnewscomnewsarticles20151104gitmo-threat-still-hangs-over-new-defense-bill
12 Jeremy Herb ldquoGOP Senators Move to Keep Gitmo OpenrdquoPolitico January 13 2015 available at httpwwwpoliticocomstory201501republican-senators-guantana-mo-114223
13 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 HRept 1735 Sec 1039 114 Cong 1 sess (Congressgov2015) available at httpswwwcongressgovbill114th-congresshouse-bill1735texteh
14 Associated Press ldquoTransfers of prisoners from GuantanamoBay have all but stoppedrdquo CBS News September 30 2014available at httpwwwcbsnewscomnewstransfers-of-prisoners-from-guantanamo-bay-have-all-but-stopped
15 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031
16 Wikipedia org ldquoTimeline of the Release and Transfer of Guan-tanamo Bay Detaineesrdquo available at httpsenwikipediaorgwikiTimeline_of_the_release_and_transfer_of_Guanta-namo_Bay_detainees (last accessed January 2016)
17 Ibid
18 For the information on Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law seeBenjamin Weiser ldquoJurors Convict Abu Ghaith Bin Laden Son-in-Law in Terror Caserdquo The New York Times March 26 2014available at httpwwwnytimescom20140327nyregionbin-ladens-son-in-law-is-convicted-in-terror-trialhtml_r=0For the information on the alleged Benghazi ringleader seePaul Courson ldquoBenghazi Suspect Abu Khatallah Pleads NotGuiltyrdquo CNN October 20 2014 available at httpwwwcnncom20141020usabu-khatallah-benghazi
19 Benjamin Weiser ldquoEx-Detainee Gets Life Sentence in EmbassyBlastsrdquo The New York Times January 25 2011 available at httpwwwnytimescom20110126nyregion26ghailanihtml
20 Paul Toohey ldquoBali bombings terrorist Hambali yet toface trial after years in Guant aacutenamo Bayrdquo NewscomauNovember 28 2014 available at httpwwwnewscomauworldbali-bombings-terrorist-hambali-yet-to-face-trial-after-years-in-guantaacutenamo-baynews-story224c09c3323e947056af0068b0fec33e
21 BBC News ldquoAustralia Remembers 88 Killed in Bali BombingrdquoOctober 12 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19920643
22 Lee Shi-Ian ldquoMalaysian duo in Guantanamo to face tribunalrdquoAsiaOne January 23 2012 available at httpnewsasiaonecomNewsAsiaOne2BNewsMalaysiaStoryA1S-tory20120123-323490html
23 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of America
On Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo March 9 2012 available at httpmfagovafennews7671
24 BBC News ldquoAfghanistan US hands over controversial Ba-gram jailrdquo September 10 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19539412
25 Richard Sisk ldquoUS Military Hands Over Last 3 Prisoners inAfghanistanrdquo Militarycom December 10 2014 available athttpwwwmilitarycomdaily-news20141210us-hands-off-last-3-us-held-prisoners-in-afghanistanhtml
26 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of AmericaOn Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo
8202019 Guantanamorsquos Last Year
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullguantanamos-last-year 88
8 Center for American Progress | Guantanamorsquos Last Year
Endnotes
1 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031 114th Cong 1st sess (January 62015) available at httpswwwgpogovfdsyspkgBILLS-114s1356enrpdfBILLS-114s1356enrpdf
2 Eli Lake and Josh Rogin ldquoPresident Not Bluffing on ClosingGuantanamordquo Tulsa World January 19 2016 availableat httpwwwtulsaworldcomhomepagelatesteli-
lake-and-josh-rogin-president-not-bluffing-on-closingarticle_2b526fc4-24a7-5dbf-ad66-73f4dc4a5ef5html
3 WJ Hennigan ldquoTransfer of 10 Prisoners Brings GuantanamoPopulation Below 100rdquo Los Angeles Times January 14 2016available at httpwwwlatimescomnationla-na-guanta-namo-bay-transfers-20160114-storyhtml
4 For the $4 million per year statistic see Andrew V PestanoldquoObama Chief of Staff Wersquore Going to Close GuantanamoBayrdquo UPI January 11 2016 available at httpwwwupicom Top_NewsUS20160111Obamas-Chief-of-Staff-Were-going-to-close-Guantanamo-Bay1021452520817 For theless than $100000 per inmate statistic see Solitary WatchldquoThe High Cost of Solitary Confinementrdquo (2011) availableat httpsolitarywatchcomwp-contentuploads201106fact-sheet-the-high-cost-of-solitary-confinementpdf
5 US Department of Justice and others Final ReportGuantanamo Review Task Force (2010) available at http
wwwjusticegovsitesdefaultfilesaglegacy20100602guantanamo-review-final-reportpdf
6 Miami Herald ldquoGuantaacutenamo By the Numbersrdquo January 142016 available at httpwwwmiamiheraldcomnewsnation-worldworldamericasguantanamoarticle2163210html
7 Office of the Press Secretary ldquoExecutive Order 13567 PeriodicReview of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo Bayrdquo Pressrelease March 7 2011 available at httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20110307executive-order-13567-pe-riodic-review-individuals-detained-guant-namo-ba
8 US Department of Defense ldquoPeriodic Review SecretariatInitial Reviewrdquo available at httpwwwprsmilReviewInfor-mationInitialReviewaspx (last accessed January 2016)
9 Ibid
10 Ibid
11 Gabrielle Levy ldquoGitmo Threat Still Hangs Over New DefenseBillrdquo US News amp World Report November 4 2015 availableat httpwwwusnewscomnewsarticles20151104gitmo-threat-still-hangs-over-new-defense-bill
12 Jeremy Herb ldquoGOP Senators Move to Keep Gitmo OpenrdquoPolitico January 13 2015 available at httpwwwpoliticocomstory201501republican-senators-guantana-mo-114223
13 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 HRept 1735 Sec 1039 114 Cong 1 sess (Congressgov2015) available at httpswwwcongressgovbill114th-congresshouse-bill1735texteh
14 Associated Press ldquoTransfers of prisoners from GuantanamoBay have all but stoppedrdquo CBS News September 30 2014available at httpwwwcbsnewscomnewstransfers-of-prisoners-from-guantanamo-bay-have-all-but-stopped
15 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 PublicLaw 114-92 Sec 1031
16 Wikipedia org ldquoTimeline of the Release and Transfer of Guan-tanamo Bay Detaineesrdquo available at httpsenwikipediaorgwikiTimeline_of_the_release_and_transfer_of_Guanta-namo_Bay_detainees (last accessed January 2016)
17 Ibid
18 For the information on Osama bin Ladenrsquos son-in-law seeBenjamin Weiser ldquoJurors Convict Abu Ghaith Bin Laden Son-in-Law in Terror Caserdquo The New York Times March 26 2014available at httpwwwnytimescom20140327nyregionbin-ladens-son-in-law-is-convicted-in-terror-trialhtml_r=0For the information on the alleged Benghazi ringleader seePaul Courson ldquoBenghazi Suspect Abu Khatallah Pleads NotGuiltyrdquo CNN October 20 2014 available at httpwwwcnncom20141020usabu-khatallah-benghazi
19 Benjamin Weiser ldquoEx-Detainee Gets Life Sentence in EmbassyBlastsrdquo The New York Times January 25 2011 available at httpwwwnytimescom20110126nyregion26ghailanihtml
20 Paul Toohey ldquoBali bombings terrorist Hambali yet toface trial after years in Guant aacutenamo Bayrdquo NewscomauNovember 28 2014 available at httpwwwnewscomauworldbali-bombings-terrorist-hambali-yet-to-face-trial-after-years-in-guantaacutenamo-baynews-story224c09c3323e947056af0068b0fec33e
21 BBC News ldquoAustralia Remembers 88 Killed in Bali BombingrdquoOctober 12 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19920643
22 Lee Shi-Ian ldquoMalaysian duo in Guantanamo to face tribunalrdquoAsiaOne January 23 2012 available at httpnewsasiaonecomNewsAsiaOne2BNewsMalaysiaStoryA1S-tory20120123-323490html
23 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of America
On Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo March 9 2012 available at httpmfagovafennews7671
24 BBC News ldquoAfghanistan US hands over controversial Ba-gram jailrdquo September 10 2012 available at httpwwwbbccomnewsworld-asia-19539412
25 Richard Sisk ldquoUS Military Hands Over Last 3 Prisoners inAfghanistanrdquo Militarycom December 10 2014 available athttpwwwmilitarycomdaily-news20141210us-hands-off-last-3-us-held-prisoners-in-afghanistanhtml
26 Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of AfghanistanldquoMemorandum of Understanding between The IslamicRepublic of Afghanistan and the United States of AmericaOn Transfer of US Detention Facilities in Afghan Territory toAfghanistanrdquo