Ayotte Statement Regarding Release of Gitmo Detainee Who Was a Bin Laden Body Guard

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released a statement following the administration's announcement that al Qaeda member and former body guard for Osama bin Laden Abdel Malik Ahmed Abdel Wahab al-Rahabi is being released from the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility.

"Abdel Malik Ahmed Abdel Wahab al-Rahabi is a member of al Qaeda and former body guard for bin Laden, and his release represents another example of the Obama administration's deeply irresponsible, misguided, and dangerous campaign to empty and then close Guantanamo," said Ayotte. "With more than 30% of former Guantanamo detainees suspected or confirmed of returning to terrorism-some of whom have killed Americans-releasing a terrorist selected to serve as a bin Laden body guard and to participate in a hijacking plot can only be viewed as a reckless gamble by the White House with the lives of Americans. The safety of Americans-not a misguided campaign promise-should govern U.S. detention and interrogation policy."

According to a Guantanamo detainee profile of al-Rahabi from October 29, 2013, before his detention, he associated closely with extremists in Yemen, including the amir at that time of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Yemen serves as the headquarters for AQAP-widely viewed as al Qaeda's most dangerous affiliate. In 2012, the Obama administration released Ibrahim al Qosi, who then returned to terrorism, became a leader and spokesman for AQAP, and called for attacks on the United States.

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