Letter to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States - Call to Examine Growing National Security Threats of Former Guantanamo Detainees

Letter

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I respectfully inquire about the terms of the agreements made with countries to transfer detainees from the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility. The terms of these agreements are vitally important to our Nation's security. On September 3, 2015, the Director of National Intelligence reported that 117 of 653 transferred detainees are confirmed to be reengaging in terrorist activities, with another 79 suspected. Disturbingly, this amounts to a full 30% of transferred detainees either confirmed or suspected of reengaging in terrorist activities. I'm also deeply troubled that the suspected terrorist activities of 79 these transferred detainees cannot be confirmed or denied. The Director's report clearly shows that the detainee transfer process is deeply flawed and poses a significant, unnecessary and unacceptable risk to the security of our Nation.

If your position is to continue this process, every possible step to mitigate the danger must be taken. Clearly, previous terms of agreements made with transfer countries lack provisions to adequately mitigate this danger. The high percentage of reengagement exposes a seriously flawed detainee transfer program, which fails to properly identify the threat posed by transferred detainees and provide necessary safeguards - safeguards that should have been in place before any transfer took place.

Given the dire national security implications posed by detainee transfers, I respectfully request the terms of agreements made with the following transfer countries.

Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Australia
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Britain
Bulgaria
Canada
Cape Verde
Chad
Denmark
Egypt
El Salvador
Estonia
France
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Hungary
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Latvia
Libya
Maldives
Mauritania
Morocco
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Portugal
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Slovakia
Somalia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Sudan
Tajikistan
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Yemen

In particular, I'm interested in the provisions included in these agreements to mitigate the inherent danger posed by detainee transfers; specifically, any provisions aimed at preventing reengagement, ensuring accountability by the home country, preventing contact with known terrorists, and ensuring these countries offer no form of aid/assistance to terrorist organizations.

I appreciate your time and attention to this request and look forward to receiving this information.