The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“YEMEN” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H10438-H10440 on Oct. 1, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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 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.
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.
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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.
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.
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