U.S. suspends transfer of Gitmo inmates to Yemen
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The United States will stop sending detainees from the facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, back to Yemen, the White House said today.
The decision comes after a political firestorm following the failed attack on a jetliner on Christmas Day. A 23-year-old Nigerian man is in custody, charged with smuggling a device aboard the jet plane from Amsterdam to Detroit. Authorities said he has told them he was recruited and trained by an Al Qaeda group in Yemen.
The device was ignited, but failed to explode. The man was subdued by passengers and crew and the plane landed safely.
The Obama administration has launched two investigations into the incident and the president is scheduled to report on the findings later today.
Republicans have sharply criticized the Obama administration’s handling of the incident. They have also questioned whether terrorism detainees should be released to their home countries from Guantanamo in the wake of reports that some sent back to Yemen have rejoined Al Qaeda.
“While we remain committed to closing the [Guantanamo] facility, a determination has been made right now, any additional transfers to Yemen is not a good idea,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters today.
Gibbs said Yemen was incapable of handling any returnees at present.
Gibbs had no numbers, but past estimates have placed the number of Yemenis at 90 to 100 in Guantanamo with some ready to be returned. Obama pledged to close the facility in his first year in office, but is expected to miss that timetable.
The administration is hoping to move many of the inmates from Guantanamo to a vacant Illinois prison.
-- Michael Muskal
