By Jon Harris:
This week ISIS launched another wave of suicide bomb attacks on Iraqi forces battling to retake Mosul. One of those bombers is confirmed to be Ronald Fiddler, who became known as Jamal al-Harith after converting to Islam in the 1990s. Al-Harith was freed from the US detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2004 after requests from then British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Following his release he was awarded 1 million pounds (now about $1.25 million) in compensation after saying British agents were complicit in his mistreatment, The Telegraph reported. It is surmised by many that the 1 million pounds eventually ended up supporting ISIS and other radical activity.
This week ISIS released a photo of al-Harith, labeling him as a suicide bomber who targeted coalition forces outside Mosul. In the photo al-Harith is pictured smiling in a 4×4 that was seen speeding down a track in video footage. According to the Times of London, ISIS claimed al-Harith caused multiple casualties.
As of last year, 653 detainees have been released from GITMO, of which 196 were either confirmed or suspected of returning to terrorism, or terror related activities. This is a shocking percentage that many in the intelligence community feel is conservative at best. Numerous lives were lost capturing these terrorists and the thought of letting them go, affording them the ability to return to fight and to kill again, is unimaginable.
This information is not new. Our government officials have known for years the terrorists released from GITMO were returning to the fight. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), in a statement on the Senate floor, Nov. 19, 2013 said, “The recidivism rate is nearly 29 percent and has been climbing steadily since detainees began being released from Guantanamo. This includes nearly 10 percent of detainees who have returned to the fight after being transferred by the current administration following the administration’s extensive review of each detainee.”
“According to the latest US government estimate, nearly 3 out of every 10 Guantanamo detainees who have been released are suspected or confirmed to have re-engaged in terrorist activities,” Breitbart’s Edwin Mora explained.
Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the President, said on Fox News this morning, “The President has been really explicit. Gitmo is a very, very important tool. It’s also important to understand that Guantanamo Bay is an incredibly important intelligence asset.”
According to Department of Defense (DoD) reviews, each of the last 15 detainees released by President Obama were deemed “High Risk”. Additionally, each detainee’s DoD review, according to The New York Times Guantanamo Docket, classified them as “High Risk” and “likely to pose a threat to the US, its interests, and its allies.” Several of the detainees were also classified as “HIGH intelligence value.” The day before President Trump’s inauguration, President Obama transferred four more people from the facility to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, leaving only 41 detainees who were deemed “the worse of the worst.”
It is about time we as a nation have a President that understands the cost and dangers of terrorism. Unlike his predecessor who was only interested in securing a legacy, and a very poor one at that when it concerned national security, President Trump appears to care greatly about our nation’s security and little about what his opponents think.
Jon Harris is an OpsLens contributor and former Army NCO, civilian law enforcement officer, and defense contractor with over 30 years in the law enforcement community. He holds a B.S. in Government and Politics and an M.S. in Criminal Justice.
To contact or book OpsLens contributors on your program or utilize our staff for your story, contact [email protected]
