[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 178 (Thursday, December 3, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H13499-H13500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       GITMO AND YEMENI DETAINEES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, in a speech at West Point earlier this week, 
President Obama explicitly designated Yemen as an emerging al Qaeda 
stronghold. The President stated, ``Where al Qaeda and its allies 
attempt to establish a foothold--whether in Somalia or Yemen or 
elsewhere--they must be confronted by growing pressure and strong 
partnerships.'' How can the President reconcile these legitimate 
concerns about Somalia and Yemen while simultaneously releasing 
Guantanamo Bay detainees to these dangerously unstable countries?
  Last month, the Obama administration secretly released another 
detainee to Yemen--information hidden from the American people under a 
provision in the FY 2009 spending bills explicitly prohibiting the 
disclosure of any information to the American people. If the American 
people knew who these detainees were, the acts of terror they have 
committed, or to which countries they were going to be released, they

[[Page H13500]]

would never stand for it. This is a dangerous precedent. Given that 
more than 74 Guantanamo detainees have returned to active 
terrorism, there's a real concern about the potential for these 
remaining detainees to return to a life of terror.

  The American people deserve the facts. I encourage the public to 
visit The New York Times ``Guantanamo Docket'' Web site to review what 
scant information about these detainees was released by the previous 
administration. I know they will find these summaries deeply troubling.
  Of the many unstable countries to which detainees may be sent, I'm 
most concerned about the impending release of 26 detainees to Yemen, a 
growing haven for al Qaeda in the Persian Gulf. It is my understanding 
that the administration is also preparing to release several other 
detainees to another country that anyone with a basic understanding of 
world affairs would agree is unacceptable. Unfortunately, this 
information, again, has been classified.
  As the President acknowledged, Yemen is one of the most unstable 
countries in the world today, and a country where al Qaeda has 
reconstituted its operations over the last year. The director of the 
National Counterterrorism Center, Michael Leiter, stated in an October 
Voice of America interview, ``In Yemen, we have witnessed the 
reemergence of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the possibility 
that that will become the base of operations for al Qaeda.''
  A number of former Guantanamo Bay detainees have returned to Yemen to 
launch terrorist attacks, including one just 2 months ago. On October 
13, Saudi police prevented an imminent suicide bomber attack as two al 
Qaeda terrorists slipped across the border from Yemen. One of these 
would-be suicide bombers, Yousef Mohammed al-Shihri, was a former 
Guantanamo detainee released in 2007 to Saudi Arabia. He quickly left 
Saudi Arabia for Yemen, where he rejoined al Qaeda.
  In September 2008, another former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Said Ali 
al-Shihri, helped orchestrate the terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy 
in Sana'a, Yemen, killing 10 guards and civilians. Since that time, al 
Qaeda's posture in Yemen has grown 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 operation. 
Yemen is also now home to the radical cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, who 
influenced Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal M. Hasan and who U.S. 
intelligence believes to be a critical link to al Qaeda's efforts to 
radicalize Americans and Europeans.
  I repeatedly urged the President to halt the release of detainees to 
dangerously unstable countries. It is counterintuitive, and dangerous, 
to return terrorist detainees to countries he acknowledges as al Qaeda 
sanctuaries. If this administration is not prepared to show good 
judgment on this issue, this Congress must take action to provide 
oversight and reconsider these irresponsible decisions. But this 
Congress has yet to hold a single hearing to raise these concerns and 
demand answers from this administration.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve better judgment 
from this administration and better oversight from this Congress.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  (Mr. DeFAZIO addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter 
in the Extensions of Remarks.)
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  (Mr. POE of Texas addressed the House. His remarks will appear 
hereafter in the Extensions of Remarks.)

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