[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 140 (Thursday, October 1, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H10438-H10440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 YEMEN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOLF. I want to talk about an issue dealing with our national 
security. CNN reported this morning that the security situation in 
Yemen is rapidly deteriorating, making a dangerous new haven for al 
Qaeda and terrorists.
  This report is just the latest in a series of warnings about the 
security situation in Yemen. Earlier this week, Time magazine reported 
that ``two-thirds of the country is out of government control,'' and 
that ``al Qaeda is turning the lawless mountain areas of Yemen into a 
new staging area.''
  According to press reports today, U.S. counterterrorism officials 
believe that al Qaeda's ``presence in Yemen threatens to turn the 
country into a dangerous base for training and plotting attacks.''
  In September 2008, al Qaeda terrorists in Yemen attacked the U.S. 
Embassy with vehicle bombs, killing 10 guards and civilians. Since that 
time, al Qaeda's posture in Yemen has grown

[[Page H10439]]

stronger with the merger of the Saudi and Yemeni arms of al Qaeda into 
one group--al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula--with Yemen as its base 
for training and operations.
  We have seen the consequences of these developments. Last August, a 
Yemeni al Qaeda loyalist detonated a suicide bomb in an attempt to kill 
Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. He was able to gain access to the 
prince by pretending to be an al Qaeda defector before detonating the 
explosions.
  Despite this deteriorating situation, it was reported--and it's hard 
to believe--in Reuters on Monday in an article I'm submitting for the 
Record that at least one detainee from Guantanamo Bay has been released 
to Yemen--released to Yemen, where you can't control the country--and 
at least 26 others have been cleared to return, according to a list at 
the detention facility posted in Arabic and Pashto.
  What kind of policy is this that the detainees--some who have killed 
American citizens--at Guantanamo Bay have a list of those that are 
being released, but not one Member of Congress or the American people 
know anything about it and are kept in the dark.
  Most of these detainees were captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 
2001 and 2002. They have spent 8 years living among the most dangerous 
terrorists in the world, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 
mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and who beheaded Daniel Pearl.
  In an attempt to meet this self-imposed deadline to close Guantanamo 
Bay next January, Eric Holder and the administration are prepared to 
release perhaps a third of its cleared detainees to Yemen, a 
dangerously unstable country that is clearly unprepared to accept and 
monitor and rehabilitate these detainees.
  Given that more than 15 percent of released detainees have returned 
to terrorism, this release will have a dangerous consequence for the 
American people. It's not beyond the imagination that there will be an 
article in the paper several months from now that somebody who was at 
Guantanamo, from Yemen, released by Eric Holder, goes back to Yemen and 
kills an American citizen or is involved in an act of terrorism.
  Combined with al Qaeda's growing strength and presence in Yemen, this 
release is concerning. As our State Department noted in its 2008 
Country Reports on Terrorism, ``The security situation in Yemen 
deteriorated significantly over the past year as al Qaeda and Yemen 
increased its attacks against Western and Yemeni Government 
institutions.''
  What is Eric Holder and the Justice Department--what are they 
thinking about? Surely, there must be a better solution, one that won't 
release detainees from Guantanamo who are involved in activities 
against American military, who have served time with Khalid Sheik 
Mohammed, to send them back to Yemen.
  Earlier today, I wrote Attorney General Eric Holder to urge that no 
additional detainees be released to Yemen or other unstable countries. 
The deadline to close Guantanamo Bay is no excuse to expedite the 
release of Yemeni detainees, especially if the country, as it is, is 
unprepared to take responsibility for them. The decision to release the 
detainees requires due diligence. It cannot be undone.
  While we may have a difference of opinion on how best to deal with 
the situation in Guantanamo Bay, I think, I hope, I believe that we can 
all agree that a rush release of terrorist detainees, people who have 
served with Khalid Sheik Mohammed, should not be released back into 
Yemen when it is so destabilized.
  What is this Obama administration thinking? What is Eric Holder 
thinking? I urge Members of Congress to have hearings and for Eric 
Holder to cease and desist any returnees back to Yemen.

                     [From Reuters, Sept. 28, 2009]

             Obama Team Clears 75 at Guantanamo for Release

                            (By Jane Sutton)

       MIAMI.--An Obama administration task force has so far 
     cleared 75 of the remaining 223 Guantanamo prisoners for 
     release as part of its effort to close the detention camp, a 
     military spokesman said on Monday.
       The review team is examining each prisoner's case to decide 
     who will be held for trial and who can be sent home or 
     resettled in other nations.
       President Barack Obama had set a January 22 deadline to 
     shut the detention camp although Defense Secretary Robert 
     Gates told ABC News in an interview broadcast on Sunday that 
     ``it's going to be tough'' to meet the deadline.
       As the review team makes its decisions, military officials 
     at Guantanamo post an updated list in the camps to let the 
     prisoners know how many from each nation have been judged 
     free to go.
       It was an opportunity to just provide better 
     communication,'' said Navy Lieutenant Commander Brook DeWalt, 
     a spokesman for the Guantanamo detention operation. ``There's 
     a lot of information out there and you get a lot of things 
     from a lot of different angles. It helps put it in a more 
     succinct context for them.''
       The prisoners are well aware of Obama's announcement that 
     the camp would be closed and have heard piecemeal information 
     from their lawyers and relatives during phone calls arranged 
     by the International Committee of the Red Cross, he said.
       The list is posted in Arabic, Pashto and English. The 
     latest list of 78 prisoners includes two Uzbeks sent to 
     Ireland and a Yemeni returned to his homeland on Saturday, an 
     indication that some progress is being made in thinning the 
     camp population of those who are not considered a threat.
       ``We are not focused on whether the deadline will or won't 
     be met on a particular day,'' White House spokesman Robert 
     Gibbs said. ``We are focused on making . . . the most 
     progress that is possible.''
       Some on the list are among the 30 ordered freed by U.S. 
     courts but still awaiting transfer, including 13 Chinese 
     Uighurs. The Pacific island nation of Palau has agreed to 
     accept most of them.
       Also on the list are 26 other captives from Yemen, nine 
     from Tunisia, seven from Algeria, four from Syria, three each 
     from Libya and Saudi Arabia, two each from Uzbekistan, Egypt, 
     the West Bank and Kuwait, and one each from Azerbaijan and 
     Tajikistan.
       Most were captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan after U.S. 
     troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to oust al Qaeda in 
     response to the September 11 hijacked plane attacks on the 
     United States.
                                  ____



                                     House of Representatives,

                                  Washington, DC, October 1, 2009.
     Hon. Eric H. Holder, Jr.,
     Attorney General, Department of Justice, Washington DC.
       Dear Attorney General Holder: It has come to my attention 
     that at least 27 detainees held at Guantanamo Bay have been 
     cleared for release to Yemen. I received official 
     notification about the release of one of these transfers, 
     Alla Ali Bin Ali Ahmed, but was only made aware of the 
     additional 26 Yemenis allegedly cleared for release after 
     reading a Reuters report titled, ``Obama team clears 75 at 
     Guantanamo for release'' on September 28, 2009.
       I urge you to reconsider any pending or future releases of 
     detainees to Yemen, particularly in light of the country's 
     deteriorating security and growing al-Qaeda presence. Earlier 
     this week, Time magazine reported that ``about two-thirds of 
     the country is out of government control,'' and that ``al-
     Qaeda is turning the lawless mountain areas of Yemen into a 
     new staging area.'' According to an AFP report today, U.S. 
     counterterrorism officials believe that al-Qaeda's ``presence 
     in Yemen threatens to turn that country into a dangerous base 
     for training and plotting attacks.''
       You will recall the September 2008 al-Qaeda attack on the 
     U.S. Embassy in Yemen using vehicle bombs, rocket-propelled 
     grenades and automatic weapons to mount a coordinated 
     assault, killing 10 guards and civilians. Since that time, 
     al-Qaeda's posture in Yemen has grown stronger with merger of 
     the Saudi and Yemeni arms of al-Qaeda into one group--al-
     Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula--with Yemen as its base for 
     training and operations.
       We have seen the consequences of these developments. Last 
     August, a Yemeni al-Qaeda loyalist detonated a suicide bomb 
     in an attempt to kill Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. He was 
     able to gain access to the prince by pretending to be an al-
     Qaeda defector before detonating the explosives. This case is 
     particularly concerning because it demonstrates an evolution 
     and sophistication in the type of attacks being planned and 
     launched by al-Qaeda leaders in Yemen.
       While I continue to be troubled that, according to the 
     Reuters report, the detainees at Guantanamo Bay currently 
     have more information about their release than do member of 
     Congress or the American people, it is of particular concern 
     that detainees who have spent the last eight years living 
     among the most dangerous terrorists in the world, including 
     Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and 
     who beheaded journalist Daniel Pearl, would be released into 
     countries with a strong al-Qaeda presence. Such a disposition 
     is only adding kerosene to a fire.
       Although we have clear differences of opinion on how best 
     to deal with the situation in Guantanamo Bay, I think we can 
     both agree that a rushed release of terrorist detainees to 
     countries with a strong al-Qaeda presence is not in America's 
     best interest. I strongly urge you to halt all transfers of 
     detainees to unstable countries, including Yemen, 
     Afghanistan, and Algeria, until evidence is provided to this 
     Congress demonstrating that the detainee can be properly 
     received and monitored in the receiving country.

[[Page H10440]]

       I look forward to your response, as well as your responses 
     to my letters to you dated March 13, April 23, May 13, June 
     8, July 7, July 10, July 17, July 22, and July 31. Please do 
     not hesitate to contact me or my staff member, Thomas 
     Culligan.
       This is very important for the safety of our country.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________