Why doesn't someone state the probability that even if 100% of the 260+ Guantanomo Bay detainees released were to return to serve al Qaeda (an unlikely percentage)– it would be only a fraction of those who have already joined al Qaeda ranks as a direct result of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq?

Holding people who have committed no crime indefinitely and torturing them is something done by third-world countries, not the United States. Thankfully, President Obama will put an end to this practice. Let's hope the Justice Department does a full investigation of how this occurred in the first place and prosecutes those responsible.

Excellent points. So why don't we just release the rest of them? I'm sure only a few will return to terrorism. Or better yet, let's bring them here, to the US. They're no threat to us. What a bunch of baloney! How in the world can the DoD present any kind of accurate statistics on the rate of return to the fight? Only if the released detainees are caught again. It's not like we've microchipped them and follow their every move. The DoD provides a statistic because that's what the press and the American people want. Is it accurate? No. It's a stab in the dark. Is the figure really higher? I have no doubt it is, much higher. But let's just continue to tell ourselves and the rest of the world how we have done these guys wrong, pat them on the head, and send them on their way. We'll all feel much better. Until the next attack on the US.

Fortunately for the us here at home when they return to the battlefield it isn't us who have to deal with them. What about the poor soldier, marine or air man who is killed by someone whom we already had captured but released. It is easy to be brave and take the higher ground when you are safe at home.

It is quite possiblt that GITMO has actualluy created more terroists. IF 96% of those detained were essentially harmless then torturing them woudl it seem only provoke more hatred toward their captors. I'd be willing to bet that the waterboarding , the Sleep deprevation and humilation imposed on these souls did nothing more than HELP terrosits world wide by providing newer and ever more determined recruits. o fthos released. I would suggest that before release every former detainee be cleansed of G W Bush's doctrine of Christian Fundamentalist Hatred and Spanish Inquisition-like abuse.

Gitmo was a disgrace specially since most of the inmates were being kept indefinitely without a trail! Not to mention the physical and mental torture that was inflicted on them!! Americans should not stand for such injustice.

Only six? Try reporting the truth, more like 62. And how about REPORTING the FACT that released Gitmo detainee Said Ali al-Shihri is now the number two Al-Qaeda in Yeman. He is also credited with a bombing that took the life of an American after being released from Gitmo. Ken and Peter- If these poor innocent abused people are freed, are you going to take them in your home? Better yet, maybe you can hire them as nannies for your children. If you guys are going to spew your idiotic sympathy for people who want to KILL AMERICANS, then I believe you should be made to take them into your homes to teach them your kumbaya love.

Well, Ken Ballen and Peter Bergen certainly aren't afraid to state some of their opinions as fact, are they?

"But these are exceptional cases because the overwhelming majority of Guantanamo detainees were never really 'enemy combatants' in the first place."

Just because a "detainee" was turned over to the United States by a foreign country certainly does not mean that the "detainee" did not, at one time or another, take up arms against the United States.

I would like to why it is not pointed out that Bush's people let the supposed bad guys out. Why did they do this? Could it be that people got upset for being held for no reason and then decide to pay use back?

Most on these comments are based on complete ignorance. I have spent my entire adult life working in the Arab and ME world. My best friends are Arabs and Muslims in these places. Having said that I also know that the radical element, the type that populate Gitmo, are committed to their DEATH to destroy western values, especially Americans. Nothing you can say, and nothing that Obama can do, will ever change this. They must be held in special detention. They will never change their stripes. The liberals in America are fatalistically mistaken in their ignorant views. I disagreed with Bush on many issues, but this was definitely NOT one of them.

There was a raid on a prison in Pakistan I believe around the time Laura Bush visited the country. They said that many of the inmates were terrorists. How would the dangers of releasing the Guantamo Bay prisoners versus those that were freed illegally?

i think obama and who ever else close guantanamo bay are stupid and should never be chosen to run our country i want to move move somewhere out of country for four years cause he is our president some president voting against our soldiers and what they needed in iraq to win this war and destroy terrorist. i think we should make it that to become president of the united states of america you should serve in an armed force and make it to a e-5 or at least a o-5 because then you can serve as a inportant role of command and know what its like to watch the faces of dying soldier. cause to become a general u have to serve and work for it, i believe we should do the same for president

There are definitely bad guys out there. There always have been and there always will be. This whole problem seems to have started by the USA NOT withdrawing its forces from Saudi Arabia at the conclusion of the Gulf War. That is why Bin Ladin hates us; he wanted to take his troops from Afghanistan to deal with Saddam. When we did not honor our promise to the House of Saud we offended them. They tolerated, didn't like, but tolerated our support of Isreal, but when we did not honor our agreement we offended them. Americans could benefit from reading a bit and getting out of the box. There are other cultures out there, and some of that land we're on is holy land to them. If we make a promise, we should keep it. Heck yes, close Gitmo; it's done more harm than good.

A.C

You're absolutely correct. These guests are all probably innocent of any crime at all. Let's say we just let them all go withing the city of Atlanta, give them all jobs at CNN and get them settles in apartments in your neighborhood. Maybe you can start a bowling league with a few of them.

A place like GITMO is a necessary evil. I have no quams about holding a terrorist who otherwise would be busy making IED's. These people do not care about whom they kill. They do not abide by Geneve conventions of war. Why should we? Holding them does not create more terrorist.Terrorist will always find a reason to hate. There hatered is not based on any logic except to gain power, control and money.

It's six and we have very, very, very bad people, why in prison right here that are "killing Americans". Sure some of those guys (all six) are very bad guys but a lot of them aren't. I work in the justice system and we do have deadlines (you know, those 48hrs awarded to you to see a judge and then that pesky 72hr arraignment). These laws are for a reason. By law, we just can't keep people locked up just because......"

Let's send Gitmo terrorists to Hollywood to do odd jobs around the house for celebrities. After all, good help is so hard to find.

"Terrorists are criminals too—indeed ideologically committed ones. Every reasonable expectation would lead to the conclusion that following release from prison, the rate of recidivism for terrorists should be as high, if not higher, as other criminals."

It is this kind of ideology that is kills innocent Americans daily. What is an acceptable recidivism rate?? and WHO says that rate is acceptable? It's bad enough that we release career criminals and those that have committed capital crimes back into our society only to have them victimize additional innocent people because were good humanatarians. Releasing any terrorist is absurd, naive and incomprehensible. These people have been at war with America for the last 40 years and their intent is our demise. It's ashame that so many Americans take their safety for granted and are more concerned about criminals and terrorists rights. I can only hope that closing your eyes and pretending this problem doesn't exsist will not kill you when you show up for work one morning, how soon we forget!

The GITMO detainees are overwhelming dangerous.

Nearly all are members of terrorist orgnizations with the purpose of conducting a guerrilla war with the United States.

Most have participated in providing aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States – if not directly killing American soldiers and allies.

If you think they play nice – you're kidding yourself.

The Harvard educated attorney and his posse (aka enlightened staff ) don't know squat about history. These new leaders are morons. Try reading Winston Churchill's memoirs regarding the secret prisons that MI-5 and MI-6 created during WWII to deal with the Nazi's. Bush didn't create the secret prisons – CHURCHILL did, and the benefits speak for themselves. If protecting Americans is above your pay grade – then step aside and let someone else lead who has the best interest of AMERICANS as their top priority. Remember libs – your Achilles heal will and always will be – your covetness – oh that just isn't fair is it ...

What a stupid argument this guy is making. Let's say, just for argument's sake that the percentage that returns to terrorism is even lower or that only one of them returns to terror. So, we let him go, he heads up a team of terrorists, and blows up the White House. That is not so bad. The percentage is low, right!

We are in a time of change in our country. Unfortunately, it may be a change to outright stupidity. Okay, I have said my piece.

They should be killed at first place ...

The United States should treat anyone in our custody in a way that we would believe an American in custody should be treated.

This is only the first mistake our new President (PO) will make concerning our security. The Dems were in charge when Al-Qaeda was growing in strength and they attacked us. Then everyone said lets go get them, until they found out how hard it would be. Now, PO is going to allow them the grow again and we'll be attacked again. Somehow some stupid Dem will find a way to blame Bush for that too. That's what Dems do, mess things up and blame others. Here we go again.

I just hope none of the releases comes back to haunt us. Another 911 would be completely disastrous.

Return the detainees to their home....and how many American soldiers will die because of their fueled hatred from the Guantanamo experience?

After having served more then one tour at this place that houses the worst of the worst I can assure you that the unlucky lot that were captured and brought to live in the cages we housed them in left wanting to join the fight thanks to us. We created plenty of the fanatics that left GTMO. Seen plenty of these guys hit the road after many years of confinement. Were those years of confinement for not even have commited an offense?

Even Gitmo is not so bad as the Russian prisons especially for the Chechens, most of whom are serving their 20-25 ear-sentences on the fabricated cases. For one rincle when making bed, prison's guards can hit out teeth or break nose or beat on the head by filled plastic bottles until the prisoner loses his conshiousness.
Unfortunately very few in the West pay attention to this horrible matter.

I can not believe all of the all mighty followers. You want terrorists released back into action. I can not believe this was Obama's first order as pres. The economy is in terrible shape, he spends 4 times the amount for his coming out party than the next highest amount, and his first order is to close Gitmo. Anyone really think this clown is looking out of americans? Maybe those that are too lazy to go get a job. But the rest of us?? Hell no. On the job front, I truely believe that anyone can get a job if they get off their tail. Yes, many have been laid off for very good paying jobs, but if anyone one really wants they can go out and get something. Maybe it doesn't pay as much, but it is work, and it is a check. Instead those of us (yes me) that have been laid off and had to take a lower paying job, has to "share the wealth" for those lazy ones that won't. One last note, are you all ready for socialism? Can anyone tell me the last time socialism work?

Some of you are so blinded by your hatred for Bush that you believe any stat anyone throws at you. Bush has done a wonderful job on terrorism, and while he has fallen short in other areas, he certainly deserves more respect than the mindless Bush haters show him. Why don't we put Guantanamo in your back yard, or release all of those sweet innocent people in your home town. It's amazing how many people will hate someone just because someone tells them to.

I think the Dem members of Congress should adopt them. Either Reid or Pelosi or even better Obama, should get the honor of adopting Khalid Sheik Mohammad. Bring them in to their homes, treat them kindly, and see how quickly they change their ways – NOT! These people hate us simply because we are who we are. They've hated us for years, long before even Reagan, and they are not going to change because we have a prez who wants to talk and play nice. When we talk and play nice we just make their planning to destroy us easier.

Those Americans who argue for these gitmo guys are the absolute fools. you guys just dont understand what these people are and believe me, if they get a chance they will surely try to kill you. come on guys, the world has come a long way. things are different. after 911 if the guy caught were kissed and loved instead of being water boarded and all, you just dont know what info you wouldnt have gotten. Be realistic you Americans, if you give afganistan to talibans, iraq to alqaeda, destroy israel and give it all to hamas, these people will next come to The USA to make it sharia law here. then how will most of you live the American dream. these guys can never be satisfied and be made happy. please stop day dreaming and sympathising with these terrorists. All the best to you guys and all the worst to obama and his cronies.

A place where some of the most dangerous people,by the way,they also hate American's guts.Why do some people think that they should be set free.What is happening in this country????Some detainees that have been released are already back on station. Go Figure. Maybe these good liberals should have some over for dinner.

Are you kidding me? I don't care what the percentage of released Guantanamo inmates who returned to terrorism are. The fact remains it took three seperate groups of eight to bring down the World Trade Center and attack the Pentegon let alone the other group the heroic passengers took on in PA. Bergen's a joke and so is his insight. I'm no Bush fan, but I am a realist!! These dudes hate us period. Don't tell me it's are ideals. We have more people trying to get in this country than leave and that's a fact. We can't be that bad.

By the way, for you all screaming Iraq is the reason get a clue. We were attacked on three seperate occasions before 911 even happened. Don't let your hate for Bush make you naive.

Judging from the horrid state of our nation and the decimated financial portfolios of so many citizens, it's becoming harder and harder to argue that the inhabitants of Guantanamo Bay rather than endless executives, politicians and leaders are our enemy combatants.

Well how the U.S govt knows everyone in Gitmo is indeed from a group Al-qaida? does US govt has a list of all al-qaida operatives? if so then why had to arrest innocent ppl and had them in jail for more than 5 years before they let them go.....

Ok, They have 62 real terrorist, it means they had more than 700 innocent ppl locked up for years, who should we held accountable who locked innocent ppl for years w/o any trial. They are humanso dont they deserve justice under american laws? since americans were the one who hold them in a first place?

I think we can all agree that we don't want to imprison those who did nothing wrong. But if we open Pandoras box and we are given a blow of an epic nature once again ,because the US is influenced by feeling instead of sound judgement. Don't stand on the side lines saying we should have done more.

The mass release of known terrorists, who are commanded by their religious leaders to kill as many Americans (infidels) as possible, by our President, is an abomination. In three days we have become a nation of appeasers and wimps the likes of which the world has not seen since Chamberlin. Reagan is rolling in is grave right now.

It only took 10 terrorists to drive two planes into the The Twin Towers killing over 2,600 American citizens. In the Oklahoma City bombing the vicious attack only took 2 people to take 168 lives and injure 800 others. It is important to note how few people it takes to cause true terror. 4% is 4% too much (if that is a true figure to begin with).

A very good article that the ideologues among us will reject. It's been clear than a number of these detainees were turned over to get the reward and we took their word they were turning over bad guys. The numbers don't lie. Gitmo had few of the worst of the worst and should have been restricted to them.

Larry, it doesn't mean they did either!!! See this attitude is exactly why America is now held such low regard around the world. Your principles are only used for yourselves or when it's handy to point out to the rest of the world they have it allllllllll wrong.

Gitmo is holding a bunch of men who you have no idea of the guilt or innocence of. Why? because no trials have taken place for them and because they were tortured. Now as any thinking person can reason, people will confess to almost anything when being tortured. Isn't it amazing how waterboarding was wrong for the Vietamanese to do to Americans but it's okay for Americans to use it. Such hypocrisy is breathtaking. You are holding a man who was 15 years old when he entered Gitmo. Supposedly he threw a grenade which killed an American soldier in a firefight. Just how one can determine exactly who did what in a firefight is beyond me but hey apparently American soldiers pay really close attention when fighting for their lives!!!

I very much respect your "take" on Gitmo and the released prisoners, etc. Here are my thoughts:

I have the greatest regard for our new President! He's the person I've fought for being in "Office" my entire life! I have every confidence in his decisions that I've not felt from my CIC prior to this admin.

Closing the prison at Gitmo is appropriate, IMHO.
I know there are glitches in the Geneva Convention (it only covers active duty military)
however, if any other country treated our people (POWs) as we've treated others, would we not be in a human rights uproar?

The "64" btw, who were released, can be easily replaced.

Anderson Cooper has done some exceptional reporting over the past few years, and he's an outstanding journalist. Therefore, with regard to the Guantanamo blog, I was stunned to see such a smart, disciplined guy reason in such a foolish, haphazard way.

I think Anderson and I would agree on the same conclusion: we want Guantanamo closed as soon as possible. But using sloppy statistics and sloppy logic to support that conclusion tends to destroy the credibililty of the conclusion.

For example, with regard to rates of recidivism, you can't just say "hey, only a small percentage of past Guantanamo prisoners were dangrous, therefore only a small percentage of current Guantanamo prisoners are dangerous." I mean, come on. What if the past prisoners were released because they were deemed to be "low risk"? And what if the current prisoners are still locked up because they are deemed to be "high risk?" Come on. Don't begin with the conclusion. Begin with the evidence.

Hey, even great journalists can make mistakes. Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour are two of the best journalists in the entire world. Way to go CNN!

It is much easier to keep statistics on "U.S. citizen" prisoners who are released back into the U. S. How can anyone know with 100% certainty what all prisoners released from gitmo are up to on a daily basis? They are dispersed to other parts of the world and are not monitored 24/7. The fact that so far most have not resurfaced in a high profile position, does not mean they are not collaborating with other terrorists, plotting future attacks. I'm sure too that those remaining in gitmo represent the worst of the bunch, which is why they are still there. Where will they end up now? Terrorism and hatred towards America began long before 9/11, in fact long before most Obama supporters were even born. What makes anyone think being "nice" to terrorists is going to suddenly cause them to change their hearts towards Americans? Look how they treat their own women and daughters who stray beyond their religeous boundries.

Those who can't be proven guilty after all these years should be set free and even be financially reinbursed for the unjust hardship caused them. I can't understand why some people don't get a simple concept like "innocent until proven guilty." That doesn't just apply to Americans. America has been pushing those ideals upon the rest of the world since it's inception.

When I was younger, I really believed the whole "home of the free and the brave" routine. Such a shame to see that some Americans are so willing to throw out that promise of freedom and justice just because they are scared. The home of the brave has now become the home of the cowards. Thank you for that, Bush! Shame on those of you whom so willingly sell out those ideals for which braver americans have long fought and died.

I'm an american, and a veteran of a foreign war. I once swore an oath to defend the american way of life against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I always wondered what a "domestic enemy" was. Now I know. Let's keep those innocent prisoners (and only the innocent ones) here in the United states, and lock up some of these loud-mouthed, cowardly, domestic enemies in Gitmo.

If their detention, and torturing, saves the lives of American soldiers and American citizens, then great! I have other things to concern myself with. Let those murdering bastards rot.

I do truly believe that a vast majority of the detainees are not terrorists, or even enemy combatants. There are tons of what seems like very plausible commentary about how people were paid to pick up "terrorist" or "enemy combatants" and then in turn be the ones who were either attacking American forces, or be causing problems with other inhabitants and taking the money to fund their own terrorist organization. The problem is that with all the outrageous torture and enhanced interrogation techniques done against these people who are more than likely innocence when they entered Gitmo, will mostly likely led these people to now engage in terrorist activities, so thanks to the Bush Administration and their water board and ask questions later policy we are now stuck with a large group of people at Gitmo that now we won't know what they will do once they are released, if they are found to be innocence, until we see them on an Al-Qaeda video claiming Death to America, or until we found their remains under rumble after the did a suicide bombing. Bet we do need to close Gitmo, put these men to a fair trial and psychological evaluation and find a place for them. I mean if we can hold Charles Manson in prison, we can hold these people in prisons.

I am not sure if Peter Gergan is a National Security Expert if he thinks the detainees at GITMO should be given their Miranda rights and a criminal trial.Now Peter, they didn't rob a bank!!! I wonder how he would like it if they transfered them close to where he lives. These prisoners are not only enemy combatants. They can be considered spies. As we all know, terrorists, insurgents and Al Qaeda do not wear uniforms. They should not come under the rules of the Geneva convention. It was put in place for conventional wars not terrorist or guerilla wars. Peter Gergan the so-called National Security Expert knows it. For some reason, he thinks we should treat them as criminals. Give me a break. I think the prisoners at GITMO should all be executed and the world will be much better off for it.

This notion that those at Gitmo were not terrorists is beyond absurd, its simply alarming! These terrorists have been in detention for about 6 years give or take. Their conditions have constantly been reported as being terrible, when in fact their conditions are much better than inmates in many US Prisons. Gitmo has simply been a great place to attack the Bush Administration from the left as it was a place where average americans could not see or would not see in their lifetimes. Now this is simply being written as a parting shot at Bush and a spike for the incoming president, the journalist (?) doesnt care about our country, just THEIR agenda.

Well why not just all of them go. When one of them kills someone you love, maybe you'll feel different. I'm tired of all this crying about water boarding. I've been water boarded. It's not that bad. Certainly not as bad as some of these arm-chair critics say it is.

Why do the authors assume the released detainees have not returned to terrorism. They do not know what these people are doing right now. Statistically, you can not create a ratio (%) based on incomplete sampling. The only real statistic that can be drawn is that of the people we have follow up information on; 100% returned to terrorism.

Tell me if I missed something here.

Gitmo was a logical step in the war on terror. It should only be closed if you can find a BETTER alternative. Sometimes we are stuck with only bad options. Just take a step back and think about it; do we really want to bring terrorists on US soil? Isn't it the President's job to keep them off of our soil?

So, your point is that we should ignore the facts concerning those terrorist who have been released and returned to killing and maiming, because not everyone who has been released have done so, and because maybe some of the bad guys may not have been really really bad.

Probably easy for you to be willing to take those risks since it is not likely the murders will be able to murder anyone that you know. It is always easier to take risks with other people’s lives.

If one of these men released were to come to America and commit an act of terrorism, would Obama take the blame or would that blame still be put on Bush?

For the record, I sincerely hope Obama is doing the right thing and that we never have another terror attack on US soil. I'm for releasing innocent or repentant inmates, but I don't know if closing the prison is the right answer. I heavily disagree with some of Obama's ideas but I'll have to be fair and give him time before I decide Pass or Fail.

Interesting "conclusions" that were drawn. Since a lower pecentage of prisoners released from GITMO returned to crime than our own legal system then the following MUST be true.

1) They were innocent in the beginning
2) The actual terrorist population was low

OR

The Saudi rehibilitation plan worked

OR

They were rehibilitated while at GITMO

OR

They had no desire to return and realized terror wasn;t theanswer

Nah,
They were innocent of course, from the beginning.

Torture is not an American option. Closure of Guantanamo's camps is a long awaited process from all over the world. It is simply against what America stand for. However, ample time to review each case should be alloted as decided by our President. In retrospect, no country wants them because of the accusations and there is also a chance terrorist goups wouldn't want them either for being compromised. A total dilemma but I think trying the detainees here in the United States will ensure a fair trial. However, it doesn't mean their native countries can simply wash their hands off them. They also need to be involved.

I don't see the reason of why Obama closed Guambo. Looking at the prison, we can see that the policies and practices of the prison is what was deemed "unconstitutional" and not the actuall prison structure. So why is the actuall prison being closed. In my opinion, the prison itself should be reformed instead of shutdown. Having even a 1% of the population reported to being back on the battlefeild seems somewhat disturbing. I know that our Constitution says that we are guarented to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However in life or death situations where the core values of our nation are being threatened by a terrorist I believe that is is acceptable to go outside the norms of what are nation deems acceptable.

Anyone who thinks we are sitting here at higher safe grounds and thinking of these people getting out and killing more Americans, need to think with a brighter light on.

Well, try to think about these prisoners as innocent people whose families are still wondering why their husbands, sons, brothers are in Guantanamo for no reason at all. Once you are done explaining some baloney story to the loved ones, then you can claim to have built a case against these people.

Holding people without trial or a charge only creates more terrorists and ill wishers. This is time for US to not charge other countries of human rights violations, but instead start practicing rights and conventions at home and at their own operations abroad.

Torture, confinement without charges, false accusations, these things happen in countries with bad human rights record and dictatorship! We being the supposed technological and military front runners have shown our lack of intelligence and tact by being utterly stupid and brain washing our soldiers into wrong actions and misleading our masses.

America, lets stand against lies and stupidity and question why our men and women have to fight the wrong wars, imprison the wrong people, give out public funds to wrong corporations, say wrong things and make wrong friends!

Yes, by all means, lets put these poor, misunderstood valiant men that war illegally captured on a supposed battlefield.

I propose this, tramsfer all prisoners to specially made holding cells constructed on the large White House lawn. All trials can be held on the Senate floor, where the majority leader Harry "war is lost" Reid can serve as judge. The jury can consist of Dick Durbin, Barney Frank, Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, and all the others that have been carping about GITMO. All trials will be public affairs, where the jury and judge can be clearly seen by the American public and witness their true justice and intelligence.They can vote their conscience and infs these men innocent or guilty.

All prisoners found "not guilty" (or whatever they want to call it), can be released and allowed to start a new life in the U.S., hopefully in wonderful cities like San Fransisco, or, will have the choice of transportation to the country of their choice.

And if ANY of these prisoners return to the battlefield, and happens to kill a young American Marine or Soldier, the President & Senators who wanted this insane policy of allowing combatants access to the American civilian judicial systen (first time in history of U.S.) can explain to the American people why they were released.

Cesar
Anaheim, CA (the OC)

Don't let them off the hook so easy! It is unbelievable the arrogance of the executives in charge of the banks and investment companies. Keep Guantanamo open and throw them there. $1m in renovations do they really think we are that stupid????

It is true. As a matter of fact there is a vacation spot near Khost where hundreds of Arabs and other Muslim brothers spent their holidays in Afghanistan before the infidels came. Given the vibrant economy and cultural life of Afghanistan under Taliban leadership certainly we can give any non-Afghan the benefit of the doubt if they were captured there. I recall those young British men of Pakistani descent who decided to visit Afghanistan in the midst of the infidel invasion and ended up in Guantanamo. There was never any evidence. They simply happened to visit a country accused of harboring terrorists on the eve of the announced infidel onslaught and got caught in the middle. Surely if any of you went to Afghanistan when the infidels were running about you would want to carry AK-47's. Never mind one of those three admitted he had trained at a jihadist camp. He clearly had been confused.

Gitmo was a great idea, you can not treat terrorist as soldier.
We should continue gitmo and the torture of these killers
if that is what we have to do to get intel on other terrorist
it is idiotic to not see this.

Total propaganda & rubbish! Why is this only now being mentioned? Only because Obama critics put it out there so as dicredit this honorable & righteous act of closing Rumsfelds' & Cheneys'& Wolfowitzs' Gitmo. Obama has higher morals(the ability to know right from wrong in Gods view) than the white supremists that were in the last administration. Logically, how are they able to track all these people. It's imposssible! Read between the lines! It doesn't make sense.

Am citizen of a 3rd world nation. Av heard and read of what happens at gitmo. It is what any humane person would call the worst of all barbaric acts. Especialy being done by the US authorities. Then again, terrorists have demöstrated worldwide they are BARBARIC. Maybe just releasing suspects should b done with utmost caution.

A lot of these men and women have no respect for human life but that should not influence our integrity and principles of better judgment, not only for the quality of human life but also to establish a system of order that does not destroy itself. Its not protecting society to make a beast out of a man or woman and return them to society. No human life should be expendable, to think human life is expendable in the grand design of things slows our advancement. We feed our primitive impulses of hate and anger, and before we know it we become the beasts. Society goes to fascism, genocide, and progress that only leads to its own destruction.

The partisan joy of "I told you so" isnt going to be such a joy when one of these killers puts a bullet into an american soldier. But I suppose maybe you can comfort yourself by saying that it's the fight against terrorism that creates terrorists, and that if we'd just let them have their way, the world would be a more equitable place.

We are currently fighting a war on drugs. Let's say your 16 year old kid is in front of 7-11 trying to score some beer. He asks some shady guy to buy him some beer, and the store has video of it. Turns out that shady guy is a big time drug dealer, and now your son is accused of being a part of a major drug deal and get 20 years to life. Your son is breaking the law trying to get beer, and that drug lord is a scum bag. But is it worth your son going to jail for 20 years so we can get that one scum bag off the streets? And are there 20 more guys waiting to fill that drug dealers shoes once he is out of the picture? So now my son is in jail for 20 years for being a part of a major drug ring, the drug lord goes to jail, and a new drug lord fills the void. Most of the people in Gitmo are not major players, so where do you draw the line? Slippery Slope my friends

And how many released Gitmo prisoners does it take to carry out an attack on our homeland?

C'mon folks, get a clue!
What did you think was going to happen if, after being held under grossly inhumane conditions, tortured, and given no hope from any quarter, you simply let these detaiinees go? Did you really believe that they were going to take up basket weaving, micro-finance, and goat herding?
They hate us! They hate us more now than they did before their Cuban vacation. We did ABSOLUTELY nothing to make them think anything but that we were the "great Satan" that they originally imagined.
We treated them, and, by proxy, their families, worse than animals get treated. Why are we so amazed when they turn around and want to kill us and our children?
Oh, and here's another little wake-up call...US prisons are full of our own citizens being treated the same way. Don't be "shocked and awed" when these folks get out (and most will) and wreak a little of their own havoc ( and mistreatment) on the local gentry. They, too, hate the way they've been treated, and nothing has been done to convince them that their view of society is any different than their original personal paradigm.
Sounds like the old tale of "chickens coming home to roost", doesn't it?

Putting myself in one of the detainee's shoes, I would have to ask my self what I would do if

a) I had been sold to a stupid American by an Afghan warlord,
b) Most liely tortured,
c) imprisoned illegally,

etc. etc.

Would I be angry and seeking revenge?

You betcha.

Stop making it sound like these people have a sickneess – who infected them?

Greg

No guanta no war, no hate no terror...

Oh, it's ok everyone! Only 4% of them are out there terrorizing people!

Releasing these prisoners and closing Gitmo is a slap in the face to our military men and women who have put their lives on the line to take these guys out of circulation. What are we thinking...we built this place just for kicks? Noooo... We built this place to house terrorist who threaten this country's safety, and you know what?...there has has not been another attack an the US since. Hmmm...maybe by chance it is working.

The practice of paying rewards for turning over alleged terrorists in regions where people are very poor and deprived and then not even investigating whether these allegiations were true, reminds me of the dark Middle Ages in Europe, the witch hunts, where you earned all of an alleged witch´s possessions by turning her in to the inquisition.It seems the Bush administration didn´t care whether they had the right people they just needed enough detainees to show for their efforts.Very strange, though, that Bin Laden managed to stay in hiding all these years.

Larry is absolutely correct. This piece should be labeled an opinion piece and should not be read as legitimate investigatory journalism. The authors' premise is flawed and they have no facts (at least none they care to report) to back it up. I am intimately familiar with the records of the detainees that were held in Guantanamo from 2004 – 2005. I can say that the majority met the definition of "enemy combatant" as promulgated by the Administration. Now, if the authors want to take issue with that definition, that is a valid debate to have. If they want to argue that many detainees were not "the worst of the worst," that too is a valid debate. I wish they had chosen their issue more carefully.

Barack Obama needs to understand that closing Gitmo, may prove to be one of the biggest mistakes that he can make.
Sending these terrorists to either federal prisons across the United States, and releasing some of these individuals outright.
There are people at Gitmo, who is responsible for the attacks in 9/11/ 2001, as well as those individuals who participated in the bombing of the USS Cole, costing the lives of 17 US Sailors, who will never get a chance to plead their case.
The families of these 17 soldiers have been expecting justice, as the bombers get continuance after continuance, no doubt knowing that if a Democrat were elected that Gitmo would be closed.
Where is the closure for these families and friends that have lost loved ones to the terrorists?
How can anyone be certain that these people have not been involved in terrorism?, ans through interrogation of these individuals we can gain valuable information that could prevent another 9/11/2001 or Navy ship destroyed.

Did it ever occur to anyone that the low repeat rate of those who were released is because they were largely cleared of suspicion, while those who remain in GITMO are the hard core with clearer evidence? Afterall, why release them in the first place if you think they are guilty. It seems like the process is working, doesn't it? I have little tolerance for those crying about the rights of these people. What about the rights of the 3000 dead on 9/11? What about the rights of their families? On the question of trial, you don't have trials for foreign combatants in a war. The fact that they are a foreign combatant is enough. In WWII we held hundreds of thoudsands of POW's without trial for the duration of the conflict. In this case, the combatants don't have the courage to fight openly as uniformed fighters. They hide among the innocent as one of them. So yes, it's harder to sort out who is guilty or who is not. Hence all the more reason to be sure that those released are innocent. By the way this comparison to US prisons is bogus too. Those released from prisons after doing their time were found guilty in the first place. THEY ARE PROVEN CRIMINALS! Hence a high repeat rate. We aren't releasing those from GITMO who are proven guilty, we are releasing those who are proven innocent. Hence, you would expect a low recidivism rate. It's only the ones we get wrong who go back to terrorism. Those we haven't released, are those with stronger evidence. Those advocating the release of the GITMO detainees need to go to NYC and look into the hole that used to be the WTC. Then they need to go to a VA hospital and see some of our soldiers who have been maimed by these 'innocents'. You whining liberals make me puke.

Recidivism rates are a ludicrous statistic in these cases. Everyone knows who the 600-ish Guantanamo guys ARE. The prision population in the U.S. numbers in the millions...and is therefore statistically anonymized. They're not going back to terrorism–well–duh!!

We'll NEVER know if they were or weren't "combatants"–because we're morons for dealing with them the way we did. Don Rumsfeld–the biggest idiot of all!!!

Larry–they may be terrorists but they are still human beings.

Why not build a federal prison in Alaska next to Palin's township? These guys hate the cold, so let-em freeze,or is that to harsh,...

Clearly if one life is lost due to the release of a Gitmo detainee then the move was a mistake. If many are lost then the move was criminal.
The real question: is it worth the risk of either? The answer is obvious.
Is it possible that there are detainees at Gitmo whom are innocent? Yes. Doesn't matter now. We can't close the barn doors once the horses have escaped. My answer may sound harsh, but logically, considering all the options on the table it may be the most prudent.
Set up a processing/trial center in an allied country, could even be Iraq.
Charter an airliner large enough to transport all detainees. Enroute, the pilot bails and the plane disappears. The detainees are gone. It's perceived internationally as an accident. The possible innocent detainees will have sacrificed their lives in the interest of Western security as so many American and Canadian soldiers have done already. They would be an unfortunate cost.

So in the first week of this new presidency we are releasing terrorist and increasing options / availability for abortions.....Yes, we can!!!

Obama's stand for suspending and closing the inhuman Guantanamo jail is remarkable, The previous administration has been run by the narrow minded facist leadership, which has made all the world insecure, knowing their background,reading and meeting some returned from Guantanamo indicates that it was a plea characterized by the non-pashtun warlords in Afghnistan who entrusted innocent Pashtuns as Taliban and Al-Qaeda personal to the US army, they paid huge money for each alleged member they detained. So it is not in black and white, we should also know that "A terrorist is a person who has gun but no Aeroplan".