Rick Nolan’s GITMO Policy Is Dangerous

At a time when terrorism is posing an ever more serious threat, President Obama and Rick Nolan continue to push to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay where many dangerous terrorists are detained. While Nolan and President Obama haven’t yet succeeded in closing GITMO, their current policy end-around of transferring terrorist detainees to other countries, mainly in the Middle East, is in full force.

However, many of the countries receiving these terrorists have shown they are incapable of monitoring the threats they pose and preventing them from returning to the battlefield. Just this week, we learned that al-Qaeda leader Ibrahim al-Qosi, a former GITMO detainee who was transferred out in 2012, has returned to the battlefield and appeared in a new al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) video.

al-Qosi is not the first to rejoin the fight once transferred, however, as three of the “Taliban Five” have allegedly tried to rejoin their terrorist organizations as well. It has even been reported by the Director of National Intelligence that nearly 30 percent of those released from Guantanamo Bay are either confirmed or suspected of reengaging with terrorism.

How can Minnesota families feel safe knowing that Rick Nolan and President Obama support handing over dangerous terrorists, into the hands of countries who have shown they cannot adequately monitor these threats and prevent them from returning to the battlefield?

“Rick Nolan and President Obama continue to push for dangerous terrorists to be transferred to foreign countries, making it more likely they will return to the battlefield against America and our allies,” said NRCC Communications Director Katie Martin. “Instead of playing politics with our national security, Rick Nolan should be making sure these terrorists remain locked up where they are not a threat to Americans.”