U.S. Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) recently spearheaded measures to prevent the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to countries known to sponsor terrorism.
Kirk introduced a bill on Monday that would prevent the transfer of detainees to known sponsors of terrorism as well as unstable countries like Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Iran.
Thirty percent of released detainees are suspected of returning to the battlefield after being released, according to Department of Defense officials. Among them was Ibrahim al Qosi, a detainee released to Syria in 2012 after being deemed a “low-level” risk.
“When asked why terrorists like al Qosi were allowed to reengage in terror against America after being transferred to Sudan, a state-sponsor of terror, Secretary of State John Kerry’s only answer was that ‘he’s not supposed to be doing that,’” Kirk said. “Allowing the transfer of these dangerous criminals to terror hotspots only makes it easier for them to re-join in the fight against America. As the administration moves forward with plans to close the Guantanamo Bay facility, we have to stop those who seek to engage in terrorism from ever getting the chance.”
Under current law, detainees cannot be transferred to Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Syria through the end of the year. The same prohibition is not, however, extended to Iran and Sudan, where 14 detainees have been sent over the previous decade.
Gardner, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, cosponsored Kirk’s bill to prohibit the transfer of detainees to countries that the United Nations has designated as sponsors of terrorism.
“The president’s rush to fulfill a campaign promise by the end of his term means an accelerated release of Guantanamo Bay detainees,” Gardner said. “The administration’s release of these prisoners to state sponsors of terrorism threatens our national security at a time when we lack a real strategy to defeat ISIS and know that many prisoners who have already been released have re-joined the fight against the West.”
The threat of detainees returning to the battlefield, Gardner added, is among the reasons why he opposes the closure of Guantanamo Bay.