One Year Anniversary of Executive Order to Close GITMO

Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary of President Obama's executive order to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba:

"The President must finally put the brakes on his efforts to close Guantanamo Bay. Each day, we continue to hear more frightening facts about terrorist recidivism; the recent decision to release two detainees to Algeria, a country with a growing presence of al-Qaeda, is particularly disconcerting. Once a detainee is relocated, there is no way to stop them from rejoining the ranks of al-Qaeda," said Congressman Joe Wilson.

Of the former detainees released from Guantanamo, one in five rejoins the ranks of radical terror groups, and those are only the ones we know of. In Yemen, three top officials of al-Qaeda are former detainees from Guantanamo, and are actively training and equipping radical Islamists.

This week, Congressman Joe Wilson, along with other Republican members of the House, introduced legislation that would restrict the President's ability to transfer Guantanamo detainees to countries with ungoverned spaces or active al-Qaeda terrorists or networks.

"The Christmas bomber's connection to Yemen and al-Qaeda puts a spotlight on the issues surrounding closing Guantanamo. Going forward, it's crucial that the administration prevents these detainees from being transferred to countries like Yemen with ungoverned spaces and active terrorist organizations."

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