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Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

20 to 30 former Guantanamo detainees suspected of joining the Islamic State, other jihad groups

Oct 30, 2014 10:03 am By Robert Spencer

File photo of detainees sitting in a holding area at Naval Base Guantanamo BayThis is not surprising, since absolutely nothing was done at Guantanamo to disabuse these men of the beliefs that led them to wage jihad in the first place. Any such action would have been “Islamophobic.”

“Sources: Former Guantanamo detainees suspected of joining ISIS, other groups in Syria,” by Justin Fishel and Jennifer Griffin, FoxNews.com, October 30, 2014 (thanks to Arthur):

As many as 20 to 30 former Guantanamo Bay detainees released within the last two to three years are suspected by intelligence and Defense officials of having joined forces with the Islamic State and other militant groups inside Syria, Fox News has learned.

The development has cemented fears that the U.S. military would once again encounter militants taken off the battlefield.

The intelligence offers a mixed picture, and officials say the figures are not exact. But they are certain at least some of the released detainees are fighting with the Islamic State, or ISIS, on the ground inside Syria. Others are believed to be supporting Al Qaeda or the affiliated al-Nusra Front in Syria.

A number of former detainees also have chosen to help these groups from outside the country, financing operations and supporting their propaganda campaigns.

Sources who spoke to Fox News were not able to provide the identities of the fighters.

Senior Defense and intelligence officials say the vast majority of detainees released from Guantanamo don’t return to the fight — and of those who do, relatively few have made it to Syria.

Of the 620 detainees released from Guantanamo Bay, 180 have returned or are suspected to have returned to the battlefield.

Of those 180, sources say 20 to 30 have either joined ISIS or other militants groups in Syria, or are participating with these groups from outside countries. Officials say most of those 20 to 30 are operating inside Syria.

The development underscores just one of many long-running complications for efforts to shutter Guantanamo Bay, a promise President Obama made within hours of taking the oath of office in 2009.

Nearly six years later, that effort has run aground, complicated by problems with relocating prisoners, by concerns about fighters returning to the battlefield and by Congress’ resistance to allowing any to be detained on the U.S. mainland.

A majority of the jihadists released to their home countries tend to stay and fight locally. Afghans who return to the battlefield, for instance, tend to stay in Afghanistan.

But these officials said the former detainees who have joined ISIS in Syria have migrated from the European and African countries which agreed to receive them from the United States.
Egypt and Tunisia, as well as six European countries, are among them.

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Filed Under: Guantanamo, Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) Tagged With: featured


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Comments

  1. Paleologos says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 11:21 am

    So, do the math … if our muslim turd in chief gets his way, and these impediments to barry turd’s plans to close Gitmo are removed …

    … The development underscores just one of many long-running complications for efforts to shutter Guantanamo Bay, a promise President Obama made within hours of taking the oath of office in 2009.

    Nearly six years later, that effort has run aground, complicated by problems with relocating prisoners, by concerns about fighters returning to the battlefield and by Congress’ resistance to allowing any to be detained on the U.S. mainland. …

    ************************************************************

    Then these muslim slime, after serving time, instead of being put to death, as they desrve, will be released on American soil!

    … no doubt, to commit muslim terrorism some more, in the good old USA! … Observant folk know that the American soil jihad has been ongoing for years.

    Yet, so much of America remains in a fatal deep sleep.

    Gee!

    R/

    Paleologos

    • Dyspeptic Lawyer says

      Nov 1, 2014 at 11:12 am

      Hey, dipwit — MOST of those guys were released under George W. Bush, and it was because we had no evidence upon which to hold them or the evidence we might have had was never even sought out or the evidence we did have was tainted because it was the product of torture.

      This story seems to be full of “might” and “probably” and makes me wonder how much actual evidence there is for any of the story. However, if we want to talk about how or why these people would be fighting against us, all we have to do is examine how we treated them when we had them in custody. We were abusive and repressive and held them for years without trial. Why should we be surprised if some among them were radicalized and became truly determined to oppose us?

      We didn’t capture these guys on the battlefield, either, as this story implies. Most of them were sold to us by the Northern Alliance or the security services of Pakistan and Afghanistan. If they’re going to battlefields now it is in part because we gave them no reason not to. That’s what happens when we abandon our principles and get in the gutter with the oppressors.

  2. Ayatrollah says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 11:34 am

    Did someone actually say “these guys are not a threat and we are releasing them”? Or were they releases just to start closing the prison?

    I don’t think anyone thought they would NOT keep doing what they do.

    • mortimer says

      Oct 30, 2014 at 12:23 pm

      The release of these dangerous criminals is both costly and deadly!

  3. mariam rove says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 12:05 pm

    what a surprise!!!! M

  4. mortimer says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 12:22 pm

    Robert Spencer’s books should be used in a series of films and videos to de-program Muslims.

    Only de-programming Muslims in general will lead to the end of jihadism. When ‘ordinary’, ‘moderate’ Muslims stop funding and abetting jihad, the terrorism will be reduced to a truly ‘tiny minority’.

    • Salah says

      Oct 30, 2014 at 3:06 pm

      “Only de-programming Muslims in general will lead to the end of jihadism.”

      Well said, mortimer. While all other solutions tend to deal with the problem on a day to day basis, this one is the only long term viable solution.
      The only way to permanently defeat jihad is to defeat Islam itself. And the best way to do so is to unveil the truth about its founder: Muhammad. It has to be done openly, publicly, on every MSM outlet and by every non-PC politician.
      As for our PC ones, they need to be removed from power, they are the true jihad enablers.
      To every Muslim: Muhammad unveiled.
      http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2010/12/perfect-man-of-islam.html

  5. moray watson says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 1:20 pm

    You can take a muslim out of his totalitarian-State, but you can’t take the totalitarian state out of a muslim.

  6. dsinc says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 2:16 pm

    Unfortunately, the only de-programming guaranteed to work is a brass implant in the brain to remove that secretion called Islam.

  7. duh_swami says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 2:40 pm

    I don’t see where the Quran or sunnah has changed any in the last 6 years. Allah didn’t call off any jihads that I know of. So of course the pious return to jihad. I’m surprised it’s not 100%.

  8. Obsidian Wolf says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 4:44 pm

    Give them all millitary trials…the guilty: executed by an all female fireing squad, buried face down with a mouth full of pork.

  9. Richie says

    Oct 31, 2014 at 6:27 am

    they should all have been executed

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