Gitmo Detainee Transfer: A Closer Look Who was transferred and why; how many prisoners are left at the detention center By Felicia Schwartz

Posted By on August 16th, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/articles/gitmo-detainee-transfer-a-closer-look-1471304435

The U.S. announced the transfer of 15 detainees from U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Here is a look at the various ramifications of the move.

Who was transferred? Where were they sent, and why?

Fifteen prisoners—12 Yemenis and three Afghans—were transferred from Guantanamo to the United Arab Emirates. The 15 were longtime terrorism suspects, but were never charged with crimes and were part of a group of detainees that the Obama administration has been trying to move to make progress in its efforts to close the facility.

They were sent to the U.A.E. because the Obama administration doesn’t transfer prisoners to Yemen due to the civil war there. The U.S. has no blanket policy against repatriating detainees to Afghanistan, but officials said they defer to the guidance of senior military officials when making decisions about where to transfer them.

Is the administration increasing the tempo of transfers? If so, why?

The rate of transfers out of Guantanamo has picked up, although President Barack Obama’s pledge to shutter the prison has proved elusive, in part because of congressional restrictions against relocating prisoners to the U.S. Meanwhile, officials are trying to whittle the facility’s population by moving out all prisoners eligible for transfer—security conditions permitting—so that the remaining detainee population will make the prison appear too costly to run. The Obama administration also has sped up the parole-like process that is involved in clearing those who have never faced charges for release.

How many detainees are left, and who are they?

There are 61 detainees left. About 20 are approved for transfers if security conditions can be met. Ten have been assigned to prosecution through the military-commission process. The remaining 30 or so are deemed “law of war” detainees who are considered too dangerous to transfer. Those who are facing trial include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged plotter of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and four of his alleged co-conspirators, as well as Abd al-Rahim-al Nashiri, who was charged for his alleged role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen.

What are the future plans in terms of transfers and ultimate detainee population?

Mr. Obama sent a plan to close the prison to Congress in February, which Republicans swiftly criticized. Some Democrats are also wary of Mr. Obama’s proposal, which centers on eventually moving remaining prisoners who can’t be cleared for release to the mainland U.S. The nine-page administration proposal said the U.S. has identified 13 possible sites to send the detainees, but didn’t name them. Pentagon teams have conducted site surveys at facilities in South Carolina, Colorado and Kansas. CONTINUE AT SITE

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