EXCLUSIVE: Two Guantánamo Prisoners Released in Mauritania
1.6.13
Note: Please read the comments below for updates. As at 3pm GMT on June 1, there has been no confirmation of the releases. Sources in Mauritania are still saying the men have been freed, but are not yet reunited with their families, while the US authorities are denying it. Some reports claim that only the man from Bagram has been returned home.
Update June 2: It now appears clear that only the man in Bagram was returned, and that the human rights representative in Mauritania was mistaken about the releases from Guantánamo. This is very sad news, particularly for Ahmed Ould Abdel Aziz, who is one of the 86 prisoners still in Guantánamo who were cleared for release over three years ago by President Obama’s inter-agency task force, and who emphatically should have been freed. Further commentary to follow soon.
In news that has so far only been available in Arabic, and which I was informed about by a Mauritanian friend on Facebook, I can confirm that two prisoners from Guantánamo have been released, and returned to their home country of Mauritania. The links are here and here.
The two men are Ahmed Ould Abdul Aziz and Mohamedou Ould Slahi, and they were accompanied by a third man, Hajj Ould Cheikh Hussein, who was apparently captured in Pakistan and held at Bagram in Afghanistan, which later became known as the Parwan Detention Facility.
According to one of the Arabic news sources, US officials handed the men to the Mauritanian security services who took them to an unknown destination. They have also reportedly met with their families.
I have no further information for now, but this appears to be confirmation that President Obama’s promise to resume the release of prisoners from Guantánamo was not as hollow as many of his promises have turned out to be. It also follows hints, in the Wall Street Journal (which I wrote about here), indicating that he would begin not with any of the 56 Yemeni prisoners out of the 86 prisoners cleared for release by the inter-agency task force that he established in 2009, but with some of the 30 others.
One of these 30 is Ahmed Ould Abdul Aziz, a teacher, and an educated and cultured man, who was seized in what appeared to be a random house raid in Pakistan in June 2002, but the other is a surprise. Mohamedou Ould Slahi was, notoriously, handed over by the Mauritanian authorities to the US in November 2001, He was then rendered to Jordan, where he was tortured, and was then subjected to a specific torture program in Guantánamo, where he arrived in August 2002, after which he became an allegedly helpful informant, although his torture was so severe that it prompted his assigned prosecutor, Lt. Col. Stuart Couch, to resign rather than continue with the case.
Although he had his habeas corpus petition granted in March 2010, this was then vacated by the court of appeals, after an outcry from numerous Republicans, who believed, as had been alleged, that he had been some sort of mentor to the 9/11 hijackers, while he was living in Germany, even though it seems clear that, although he had met them, he had not done anything to assist them in their plans, and nor did he have any knowledge of the 9/11 attacks.
I wrote extensively about the injustice of Slahi’s case — including the self-defeating absurdity of indefinitely detaining someone who had allegedly become an important informant — following the publication of a revelatory article in the Washington Post in March 2010, and his case recently came to light again when Slate published excerpts from an astonishing autobiography that he wrote in Guantánamo.
I will write about further developments when I have them, but for now this appears to be very good news indeed, not just for Ahmed Ould Abdul Aziz and Mohamedou Ould Slahi, but also for the other cleared prisoners in Guantánamo.
Andy Worthington is a freelance investigative journalist, activist, author, photographer and film-maker. He is the co-founder of the “Close Guantánamo” campaign, and the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by Macmillan in the US, and available from Amazon — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. He is also the co-director (with Polly Nash) of the documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (available on DVD here — or here for the US).
To receive new articles in your inbox, please subscribe to Andy’s RSS feed — and he can also be found on Facebook (and here), Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Also see the four-part definitive Guantánamo prisoner list, “The Complete Guantánamo Files,” an ongoing, 70-part, million-word series drawing on files released by WikiLeaks in April 2011. Also see the definitive Guantánamo habeas list and the chronological list of all Andy’s articles.
Please also consider joining the “Close Guantánamo” campaign, and, if you appreciate Andy’s work, feel free to make a donation.
Who's still at Guantánamo?
77 Responses
Andy Worthington says...
This is how the story broke. On Facebook, three hours ago, Moon Mohamed wrote:
Congratulation,the tow Mauritanienne are free from GTMO ,and they are back in Naoukchoot
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:18 am
Andy Worthington says...
Moon, please explain further – the two Mauritanians still in Guantanamo are Ahmed Ould Abdul Aziz (cleared for release) and Mohamedou Ould Slahi (not cleared for release). Are you saying they’ve been freed?
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:18 am
Andy Worthington says...
Moon Mohamed wrote:
Yes today in Mauritania ,both of there families are declaring that Ahmed and Mouhamedou are home. I live in New York. But I’m from Mauritania.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:19 am
Andy Worthington says...
Moon Mohamed wrote:
Andy Worthington , resources from the NKTT airport said that they have received both of them and signed a report for the Americans. and took both of them to a un located place in Mauritania .
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:19 am
Andy Worthington says...
Wow, that’s amazing news, Moon. Can you let me know as soon as you find a reference online? I am surprised if Slahi has been released, because some Republicans will make a huge fuss about it, but perhaps that’s just the kind of bold move that’s needed.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:19 am
Andy Worthington says...
Moon Mohamed wrote:
That’s what I’m looking for now ,we are a Arabic speaking country most of our media is in Arabic ,I’m trying to find something in English for you , btw thank you so much for your amazing and incredible work ,such a spiritual and encourage person.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:20 am
Andy Worthington says...
Moon, thank you for the kind words. If you can send me a link even in Arabic, I can use Google translate to get the bones of it. I just need confirmation in print before I can run with it!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:20 am
Andy Worthington says...
Moon Mohamed wrote:
You are very welcome ,I will do it now
http://taqadoumy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3688:2013-05-31-23-37-16&catid=77:personal-tech&Itemid=478
http://ani.mr/?menuLink=9bf31c7ff062936a96d3c8bd1f8f2ff3&idNews=21882
Well there is an other guy from Bagram in Afghanistan ,he’s from Mauritania as well
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:21 am
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks again, Moon, very sincerely. Just writing something now!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:21 am
Andy Worthington says...
Moon Mohamed wrote:
You are welcome ,I actually wanna note here that ,what u mentioned earlier about them was the truth,I meant ppl are not sure about OULD salahi yet so ,like you said earlier ,any way let me please know ,when u find out thank you .
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:22 am
Andy Worthington says...
I Google translated both the Arabic news articles, Moon, and they said that Ahmed Ould Abdul Aziz, Mohamedou Ould Slahi and Hajj Ould Cheikh Hussein were returned to Mauritania.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:22 am
Andy Worthington says...
After I published the story, Monique D’hooghe wrote:
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:28 am
Andy Worthington says...
Waris Ali wrote:
WOWW!!! OMG this is brilliant!!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:29 am
Andy Worthington says...
Waris Ali wrote:
Shaker next please!!!!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:29 am
Andy Worthington says...
MadLion Muir wrote:
A good start!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:29 am
Andy Worthington says...
Jamie Mayerfeld wrote:
Oh gosh, I hope this is true.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:30 am
Andy Worthington says...
Moon Mohamed wrote:
Thank you soo much ,I didn’t if u seen my last comment on the conversation we had my friend Andy Worthington ,?
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:31 am
Andy Worthington says...
Hafsah Aneela Bashir Mua wrote:
Lets hope this giving attitude continues and Obama sees it through…. Too late for those sent home in body bags, May they rest in peace x
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:31 am
Andy Worthington says...
Waris Ali wrote:
Have shared on the Save Shaker page Andy, me or Maryam will share further developments
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:31 am
Andy Worthington says...
Emine Dilek wrote:
Andy, thank you for amazing work on this. You are a hero. I hope they release all the innocent people. It really is a dark stain on the country’s legacy.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:32 am
Andy Worthington says...
Elizabeth Ferrari wrote:
About damn time. Thanks, Andy. Please let’s keep up the pressure.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:32 am
Andy Worthington says...
Ric Steinberger wrote:
too bad it took a massive hunger strike and years of world outrage to get this far
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:33 am
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks, everyone, and especially, of course, to Moon for alerting me to this. I am pinching myself to believe that it’s true, but the sources are certainly stating that both the men have been released from Guantanamo, and the third man from Bagram, and all three are named. Waris, the pressure to release Shaker Aamer needs to be stepped up as soon as this story is officially confirmed. After just reading about Shaker’s belief that he will be freed soon, I find myself unfamiliarly hopeful.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:33 am
Andy Worthington says...
Waris Ali wrote:
Agreed Andy, i’m sure once the others hear about this it will give everyone some renewed impotus. I’m sure you know of the next political related steps that will be done for shaker in the UK, once parliament comes back from recess in a few days. Perfect timing i would say. Kudos to Jane Ellison MP for what she’s been doing, alongside the brilliant work and commitment of Caroline Lucas. She certainly kept at it. We have been utilising all the ways and means available to us, in particular social media wise, recently in conjunction with Anonymous (and others) over a period of days a week ago. When we got hashtags trending worldwide at Number 1 and in the USA at number 1 for a few hours, and also when Obama did his speech. We had our own twitter packages for Shaker Aamer, so certainly even more people now know of shaker’s plight not just in the UK but also in the USA. The excellent Medea Benjamin and Codepink have helped to highlight not just Guantanamo in recent weeks, but with specific focus on shaker aamer in the USA too. Alongside Amnesty international of course. So yeah, things moving in the right direction. Pressure has to be kept up though, focus must remain!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:56 am
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks, Waris. OK, it’s 4.45 now, and I need to sleep. Moon has pointed out that some sources in Mauritania are saying Slahi hasn’t been released, but we seem secure about the other man, Ahmed Ould Abdul Aziz. I was thinking how this poor man lost 11 years of his life for nothing – he was in Pakistan, in his house, when they came and took him away. No battlefield allegations, no nothing really. How does that happen, and how has America got away with it for so long? Even now, we hear repeatedly about the “terrorists” and hardly anyone challenges this kind of casual, evidence-free demonization.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:57 am
Andy Worthington says...
Joyce McCloy wrote:
thank you Andy for raising awareness on this issue, and making it impossible for the politicians to ignore.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:57 am
Andy Worthington says...
Darold Killmer wrote:
Fantastic news, Andy. I think John Holland is Aziz’s lawyer, and he was down at the prison just this week, and is on his way back to Denver now . . .
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:57 am
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks, Joyce. It seems we’re finally getting somewhere, but we must keep pushing!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:58 am
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks, Darold. I’m very much hoping that the Mauritanian news sources can be relied upon. Until tomorrow …
...on June 1st, 2013 at 3:58 am
Thomas says...
About time!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 4:39 am
Two Guantánamo Prisoners Released in Mauritania | freedetainees.org says...
[…] By Andy Worthington Mohamedou Ould Slahi, photographed before his capture. […]
...on June 1st, 2013 at 7:02 am
Andy Worthington says...
Waris Ali wrote:
Darn it, according to your friend Jason Leopard on twitter from 28 minutes ago “FALSE ALARM ALERT: Just now hearing from my own sources the story abt released Gitmo prisoners likely not accurate”
...on June 1st, 2013 at 7:17 am
Andy Worthington says...
Waris Ali wrote:
Also “the report that two Guantanamo prisoners were released is based on Arabic language news stories. but it appears those reports are false”
...on June 1st, 2013 at 7:18 am
Andy Worthington says...
Waris Ali wrote:
check above messages Andy Worthington Due to those tweets from Jason Leopard i thought it best to delete article from save shaker page
...on June 1st, 2013 at 7:18 am
Andy Worthington says...
Hi Waris, Jason now informs me his source “may be wrong after all.” I went to bed fully prepared to amend the article to say that only one Guantanamo prisoner had been released, Ahmed Ould Abdul Aziz – and the man from Bagram – as it struck me as implausible that Mohamedou Ould Slahi would have been freed if Obama wanted to avoid trouble with Congress. Now we’ll just have to keep watching and waiting …
...on June 1st, 2013 at 10:19 am
Andy Worthington says...
Excellent! This just in: Jason Leopold just tweeted a few minutes ago that he called Southcom, the Pentagon and State Dept and they reported that two prisoners – sorry, “detainees” – have been released.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:37 am
Andy Worthington says...
Monique D’hooghe wrote:
let’s hope it is true and that all that have been cleared will soon be reunited with their families, Andy… keeping them after they have been cleared is just soooo wrong
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:37 am
Andy Worthington says...
Absolutely, Monique. It would be more honest to do as dictatorships do, sling people in a dungeon and throw away the key. Doing the equivalent, but then claiming there’s a review process whereby you’ve been cleared for release – or “approved for transfer” – and then not letting you go because it’s proven to be politically difficult is a whole new level of cruelty.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:38 am
Andy Worthington says...
JaMilla FaiZah wrote:
Alhamdulillah
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:40 am
Andy Worthington says...
Koki Piro wrote:
tears are flooding down from my cheeks right now.. Thank you Andy!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:40 am
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks, JaMilla and Koki.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:40 am
Andy Worthington says...
Nicole Briggs-Elgammal wrote:
In shaa Allah they truly get freedom and not just a transfer to another prison.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:41 am
Andy Worthington says...
Yes, we need to make sure that’s the case, Nicole, but the problem for the US has always been that most other countries – even ones with generally dubious judicial processes – find it hard to justify imprisoning people on the basis of the worthless information the US pretends is evidence.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:41 am
Andy Worthington says...
Harriet Wong wrote:
Thanks for sharing this good news Andy.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:42 am
Andy Worthington says...
You’re welcome, Harriet.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:42 am
Andy Worthington says...
Bill Anderson wrote:
Wow, O’Bomber followed through on something? Amazing…. hope he continues in that vein
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:53 am
Andy Worthington says...
Tausif Khan wrote:
This finally some concrete good news we can all agree.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:53 am
Andy Worthington says...
Beth Cioffoletti wrote:
Hurrah!!!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:53 am
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks, Bill, Tausif and Beth. And let’s not forget that this is down to four things – 1) the prisoners themselves and their desperate hunger strike to gain attention, which finally reminded the global media to wake up 2) high-level criticism domestically and internationally 3) the fact that elements of an understanding of truth, justice and fairness still exist in parts of the political administration, and 4) us. More people expressed indignation about Guantanamo than ever before, and around a million people have signed petitions in the last month or so. It was noticed. Now we need to keep the pressure on – to get all the cleared prisoners released, to get objective reviews for all the others who are not going to be charged and tried, and, ultimately, to close the prison once and for all.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:54 am
Andy Worthington says...
Two reports in French, btw, are here:
Cridem.org, published at 1.11 am: http://www.cridem.org/C_Info.php?article=643654
And AFP: http://bit.ly/ZkA3Ma
...on June 1st, 2013 at 12:20 pm
Andy Worthington says...
Just to provide an update: it’s still unclear what’s actually happening. Southcom is now denying the releases, Jason Leopold reports, but sources in Mauritania are still saying that the men are back, but haven’t yet been reunited with their families.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 2:00 pm
Brian Scott says...
hey, even if the reports are premature, or ultimately untrue, we need to keep our heads in the fight.
I just posted somewhere yesterday that I doubted that signing petitions was an exercise in futility. I’d love to be proved wrong.
.
But my larger point remains correct: activists can act directly to interfere with the abuse at Gitmo. Take the principals to court in whatever jurisdiction you live in.
Start with John V. Bogdan, the Warden.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 4:27 pm
Brian Scott says...
regrettably, WaPo.com is reporting that their lawyers say it isn’t true.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 4:56 pm
Brian Scott says...
I just called SOUTHCOM myself.
Their direct number is +1 (305) 437-4900.
They have no news on this matter.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 5:01 pm
Brian Scott says...
@carolrosenberg of the Miami Herald tweeted 45 minutes ago:
“#Guantanamo chief spokesman just rang in from Cuba: No transfers, releases. Prison pop stands at 166. Southcom chief Gen. Kelly visiting.”
Check it out at http://www.miamiherald.com/guantanamo/.
Major letdown.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 5:19 pm
arcticredriver says...
Andy I found some Turkish references that also report their repatriation, like this one: http://www.sondakika.com/haber/haber-guantanamo-daki-2-moritanyali-serbest-birakildi-4688463/
I took a look at the documents from the annual status review board hearings from 2008. At page 9 in this big portable document file we get the five page allegation memo prepared for Ahmed Ould Abd al-Aziz. http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AARB_4_Documents_for_ISNs_757_through_1461.pdf&page=9
At page 22 we get Mohammed Ould Slahi’s four page memo. http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ARB_4_Documents_for_ISNs_757_through_1461.pdf&page=22
If we took every allegation in those memos at face value, they would be pretty damning. But the Slahi memo, in particular, contains confessions those of us who paid attention to the information in the public domain know can’t be true.
Slahi is supposed to have confessed to have attending the al Farouq training camp in 1991. But, following the ouster for the Soviet occupiers didn’t Osama bin Laden, and al Qaeda, relocate to Sudan? If al Qaeda were running training camps in 1991, wouldn’t they have been in Sudan.
This allegation captives attended al Farouq are disturbing because many captives stand accused of traveling to Afghanistan, to attend al Farouq AFTER the attacks on 9-11 — when many captives testified, and some of the memos acknowledge, that Osama bin Laden shut down the al-Qaeda camps the day before 9-11. OBL remembered that two camps al-Qaeda camps were hit by cruise missiles after the African embassy bombings in 1998. So, the many captives who faced the allegation they attended an al Qaeda camp were victims of false denunciations, or bad record-keeping.
Similarly, I think we can discount this allegation against Slahi.
The allegations have him active in Afghanistan, as an “al Qaida facilitator” the early 1990s — and they also have him earning a degree in Electrical Engineering in Germany. Earning a degree in EE is a full time job. It doesn’t leave time for being an al Qaida facilitator in Afghanistan.
Anyhow, it is excellent that you had facebook contacts who gave you first crack at this news.
Cheers!
...on June 1st, 2013 at 6:20 pm
arcticredriver says...
Andy, I noticed a change in the wording in the 2008 memos. The 2nd paragraph is more explicit that most releases were conditional. It said:
(1) release you to your home state;
(2) transfer you to your home state, with conditions agreed upon by the United States and your home state; or
(3) continue your detention under United States control.
I am concerned for Slahi, for both these men, because I suspect their repatriation was conditional. Slahi wanted to return to Canada, where he spent a few years. My recollection is that he didn’t want to return to Mauritania at all.
It is possible that after further years of detention he changed his mind, but I am afraid he may have preferred to wait for a third country, maybe even Palau, Bermuda or Albania, offering him Asylum
...on June 1st, 2013 at 6:55 pm
arcticredriver says...
Here is the URL to a handwritten letter from Slahi from 2006 — which I manually trnscribed way back then as I find handwriting hard to read:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/couch-slahiletter-03312007.pdf
my transcription follows:
So there it is — explicitly — he eventually said “yes” to every allegation, without regard to how incredible they were.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 7:23 pm
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks, Brian, in particular for the encouragement for us to “keep our heads in the fight.”
And arcticredriver, thanks for those reports, even though sadly, it seems, the stories of the men’s release were untrue. Your points about Slahi’s treatment remain of huge importance – and as for Ahmed Ould Abdul Aziz, I hope the question is raised publicly about why this educated, cultured man is still held. I plan to write something soon.
...on June 1st, 2013 at 11:49 pm
arcticredriver says...
Andy, as I write this, the DoD is claiming it hasn’t transferred any captives from Guantanamo since Omar Khadr
Some articles are saying the Obama administration failed to advise Congress first — something Congress passed a law requiring it to do.
How seriously should we take a DoD claim like this?
Andy, can I repeat some of the earlier instances when the DoD claimed something, only to have that claim prove utterly unreliable?
When the DoD first announced deaths in custody at Guantanamo, on June 10, 2006, they claimed none of those men had active habeas motions. In fact not only had two of the men had legal teams working on their behalf, but one of those teams have been engaged in a cruel Kafka-esque charade. Although his family had gone through the legal step of filing the habeas petition as his “his next friend” Guantanamo authorities wouldn’t let him meet with their client until they had a letter from him, agreeing to let them represent him. The Kafka-esque element was that when the lawyers on his legal team tried writing him, to tell him his family had hired them, and asking him to reply with the letter of permission, that letter was returned to them as “undeliverable” — as they didn’t have any captives by that name. The legal team sent further letters, using different transliterations of his name, all with the same result. This cruel charade had gone on for longer than a year.
Andy, I am sorry to tell any of your American readers that it looked like those responsible for delivering this letter were arbitrarily changing the “official name” they used for captives, solely so they could return their mail as undeliverable.
A second surprising claim that comes to mind was made by a public affairs officer two days after one of the less important captives who faced charges before a military commission told the Presiding Officer that he would like the lawyers assigned to him by the military to be assisted by a civilian lawyer from his country who he could speak to without requiring an interpreter. It turned out, when the Presiding Officer questioned him, the Guantanamo post office had (typically) never delivered him any mail from home. At this time phone calls home had been very rare — there had been barely more than two dozen.
The Presiding Officer delayed further preliminary hearings until this suspect had been allowed a phone call to his relatives, so they could discuss hiring a local lawyer with him.
Well, within 24 or 48 hours of this ruling a public affairs officer had announced that the phone call had been scheduled, and had already taken place. Carol Rosenberg, who knew the process usually required at least a month, so the Red Cross could find the family, and make sure they could provide a safe secure reliable phone line. The suspect’s military attorney was also caught off guard, as no one had contacted her to learn his family’s address.
Of course these are only two of the unreliable claims the DoD made. At the risk of being overly suspicious, I am going to suggest that, over and above the unreliable claims the DoD had been caught making that had already been refuted, there are many other unreliable claims they made that haven’t yet been refuted.
Personally I am extremely skeptical that the three men whose death was announced on June 10th, 2006 were the first men to die in the camp. The DoD had been forced to issue an official list of captive’s names less than a month prior to the announcement of those deaths. Before the DoD issued that official list they could get away with hiding the deaths of captives they had never acknowledged they were holding. In the early years of the camp it held many more captives. Some of them had arrived at the camp with serious wounds. The guard staff were more brutal then, just like the brutality that Colonel Bogdan has re-instituted. It is hard to believe that no captives died until a month after the official list was published.
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 12:04 am
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks, arcticredriver, for the reminders about why we shouldn’t take all the utterances of the Pentagon seriously!
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 12:09 am
arcticredriver says...
Yes, the DoD denial can’t be ignored.
Is there any kind of chaotic condition where one part of the DoD wouldn’t know of a transfer done by some other portion of the DoD? Is there any kind of chaotic condition where some portion of the DoD would set in motion an emergency transfer without telling Congress, the White House, and some portion of the Department of Defense?
Sadly, I am afraid I can think of one situation where this might happen. I am afraid that a captive who was on the brink of death might be repatriated, at the last moment, so that the DoD would not have to investigate and explain whatever circumstances led to his death.
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 12:14 am
Andy Worthington says...
A horrible thought, arcticredriver, but one obviously inspired by some of the real-life horrors that have taken place at Guantanamo over the years.
I initially thought it possible that denials would take place if the administration wanted to keep quiet about the releases for a certain amount of time – and I’m sure that would happen if they decided not to say anything for, say, 72 hours.
In retrospect, however, I don’t suppose anyone can be released without the President using the waiver in the NDAA, which, I presume, might then be publicized – before any prisoner is released – as various old men in Congress (and perhaps the odd crazy woman too) queue up to get apoplectic.
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 12:49 am
Tom says...
If the Pentagon and US govt. are lying about these releases and detainee deaths (among other things), consider what happened to Pat Tillman. A NFL player decides to go into the military. He has the “nerve” to publically admit that he read Noam Chomsky and questioned Stateside foreign policy. Then he goes into the military and is killed by friendly fire. The govt. deliberately lied about and manipulated his death for propaganda.
Why then would Obama and Hagel be any different?
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 2:03 am
arcticredriver says...
Andy, I wonder about something you wrote:
During World War 2, the US military graduated a lot of officers, disparagingly called “90 day wonders” to fill the bottom rung of the officer ranks. They were advised to never order anything their sergeant, generally someone with years of service, didn’t think was a good idea. There was an aphorism that no senior officer could ever institute a policy that his sergeants were opposed to.
I think what President Obama has found, with Colonel Bogdan and Colonel Pohl, the chief judge of the office of military commissions, is that he can’t get his policies faithfully followed when his colonels are opposed.
Americans make a big deal of calling their President the “Commander in Chief”, and in Hollywood entertainments like “Air Force One”, or “Independence Day”, we see Presidents who, in an emergency, will strap on a gun, or get in a jet fighter, to go lead American fighters by example.
But I think President Obama is finding just how theoretical that “Commander in Chief” authority is. He can’t reach down and issue orders directly to 2 stars or 1 star flag officers. He can’t order Colonels fired. At best he can set in motion an inquiry. But, unless Secretary of Defense Hagel succeeds in stripping the commanding officers who act as convening authorities of the vice-regal power to set aside verdicts without explanation, or to decline to charge guilty GIs, even when a high-level inquiry recommends charges, those inquiries risk being as toothless as all the earlier inquires we have seen.
As to whether a rogue officer like Colonel Bogdan could think he could get away with flouting Congress. Sadly, I think the record shows the angry voices in Congress really only focus on transgressors when they think those transgressions embarrass bleeding heart liberals.
Attorney General Holder and President Obama lacked the moral courage to prosecute CIA torturers — on the theory that their actions were taking the advice in the torture memos at face value.
Lieutenant Ilario Pantano was able to escape any formal punishment for what was clearly not just murder and body desecration, but a premeditated act of murder. We know that camp authorities either clandestinely ordered, or at least tacitly allowed, the disgraceful use of sleep deprivation long after authorization for this technique had been removed.
Senior CIA officials pondered, for years, whether to destroy its infamous torture “training” recordings. They had denied the existence of these recordings. There was widespread speculation and rumours that those denials were lies. And there was a court order to prevent the destruction of any recordings like those.
Juan Rodriguez, Director of Operations, did order the destruction of the recordings — and he was never charged.
Bradley Manning, John Kirikou, Commander Diaz, were all punished for leaking classified material — but Jeffrey Groharing, or members of his team, leaked video clips of 15 year old Omar Khadr. Those clips were also classified. No one was charged. There wasn’t even a inquiry.
Colonel Baumgarner stuffed rags down the throats of four Guantanamo captives, killing three of them. He wasn’t authorized to do that. But he got away with it, with his reputation and pension intact.
So, I am afraid that if rogue members of the military did send dying men home without following protocol, patriots will close ranks, on the grounds those responsible “acted in good faith”.
If either of the Mauritanians were repatriated, because camp authorities thought they were on the brink of death, I hope they recover, either because they end their hunger strike, or contact with their family has a positive effect on their health.
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 2:18 am
the talking dog says...
According to the Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/01/released-guantanamo-bay-detainees-mauritania , at least, Nancy Hollander, Slahi’s attorney, is denying his release. It would appear we are now in a “fog of war” scenario, and it might take a little while to sort out just what is actually happening.
While welcome news to the world if true, releasing innocent men from GTMO is not something that generally sits well with the draconian sensibilities of most of my countrymen, and hence, is rarely done with much fanfare from this end.
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 4:24 pm
Andy Worthington says...
A sad story, Tom, that I hadn’t heard before: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Tillman
I also agree that there is no reason for necessarily believing what we are told by the spokespeople for a monstrous war machine or the leaders or senior officials of the country bankrupting itself in pursuit of endless war.
It now seems clear that only the prisoner from Bagram was returned to Mauritania, but I have no time for Pentagon spokespeople smugly explaining how there are still 166 men in Guantanamo, and no one has been released since last October. There’s no reason for anyone to be even vaguely proud of that fact.
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Andy Worthington says...
Very powerful commentary indeed, arcticredriver. As we are seeing, it now appears that neither of the Mauritanians in Guantanamo have been released, but I can’t think of a single reason why I should trust anything US military spokespeople say, given the track record that you’ve highlighted. I only spoke to the Pentagon once about Guantanamo. I rang up and asked why there were missing ISN numbers – ISN 001, ISN 180, ISN 212 etc., and was told that those numbers had never existed – which was, of course, a blatant lie, whether deliberate or not. It helped me to decide that the “objectivity” that liberals bleat on about being necessary in media reports is often horribly counter-productive, skewing the news in favour of the wrongdoers. It wasn’t the only example of that, of course. Dangerous right-wingers lie and issue black propaganda endlessly, while liberals hand-wring about the need to tell both sides of the story. It’s part of the reason why the world is such a mess.
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 7:15 pm
Andy Worthington says...
“Fog of war” indeed, TD. Good to hear from you. On reflection, the release of Slahi was highly unlikely, given your fellow countrymen and women’s sensibilities (although I agree with Judge Robertson, who granted his habeas petition, that he should be freed), although no one should be even remotely happy that Ahmed Ould Abdel Aziz hasn’t been released. Cleared for release – sorry, “approved for transfer” – over three years ago, his ongoing detention is disgraceful, as it is for the other 85 men told in January 2010 that the US had no desire to deprive them of their liberty endlessly.
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 7:27 pm
Andy Worthington says...
Abzter Ganjakur wrote:
WHAT A SHAME. BUT LIKE SHAKER AAMER SAYS THEY WILL DEFO BE BACK SOON INSHALLAH. WE HAVE TO HELP WITH THEIR RELEASE AS MUCH AS WE CAN. AND IT SEEMS LIKE A PROMISING TIME NOW WHAT WITH THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERING THE HUNGER STRIKES AND ABUSE IN THERE. KEEP GOIN ANDY IT WILL BE WORTH IT IN THE END.
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks, Abzter. The struggle continues!
...on June 2nd, 2013 at 10:05 pm
arcticredriver says...
Andy, I think this appendix is from a report from the Guantanamo Joint Task Force. Page 7 has to references to interviews with 757, acknowledging he claimed recent wounds from the camp staff, and that he called it torture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:February_2009_report_of_Guantanamo_Joint_Task_Force_–_Appendix_4_–_Interviews.pdf&page=7
Page 8 refers to interviews the GJTF staff conducted in the following days to confirm claims of abusive treatment from detainee 174 and ISN 757: http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:February_2009_report_of_Guantanamo_Joint_Task_Force_–_Appendix_4_–_Interviews.pdf&page=8
The document says they reviewed recordings of al-Aziz’s forced cell extraction — presumably to form their own determination if excessive force was employed, and they interviewed the DIMS. Would this be short for the “Detainee mumble Medical Service”?
...on June 3rd, 2013 at 1:47 am
Ron Flanders says...
There was nothing smug in the Pentagon spokesperson’s quote about the 166 detainees. He was asked a question by a reporter about the story online about two Mauritanians being released. He answered the question. It’s not his fault someone irresponsibly reported that two detainees had been released from Guantanamo without bothering to call and make a basic fact-check.
I understand there’s a difference between an activist and a real journalist, but it’s not helpful to anyone when errors such as this are made. Please feel free to call us and double-check the next time you hear rumors about a Guantanamo detainee. You will get an honest answer, as Mr. Leopold and Ms. Rosenberg did this time.
...on June 3rd, 2013 at 1:54 am
Andy Worthington says...
Fascinating, arcticredriver. Thank you very much, as ever, for your research and your attention to detail.
...on June 3rd, 2013 at 11:38 am
Andy Worthington says...
Please see my published reply soon, Ron. I think your comments deserve a well-publicized response!
...on June 3rd, 2013 at 7:49 pm
Ron Flanders says...
OK, thank you, I look forward to it. Understand that the spokespeople for JTF-GTMO and DOD are just doing their jobs. In the event of a transfer from Guantanamo, they will release the information as soon as possible, as it is not something the government wants to hide. As you know, the defense attorneys and the government will announce it posthaste.
...on June 3rd, 2013 at 9:13 pm
Andy Worthington says...
My response is here, Mr. Flanders: http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2013/06/03/my-exchange-with-guantanamo-spokesperson-who-called-me-an-activist-and-not-a-real-journalist/
I understand that people are “just doing their jobs,” but that doesn’t give you license to criticize me for a story that was also put out by AFP and the Associated Press, unless you can demonstrate that you have also referred to them as not being “real journalists” as well.
It would also, I think, be wise to consider why many people – myself included – might have problems with the purported truthfulness of spokespeople for Guantanamo, looking back at the last eleven years.
...on June 3rd, 2013 at 9:28 pm