On "terrorism recidivism" -returning to the fight

[underpants]

3 points

1.Think about it this way- a guy who disappeared 5 years ago shows back up and you put him RIGHT BACK in the leadership role (if he ever was in one) and just trust that he hasn't turned or being traced??? Really? no of course not.

2. Olbermann quoted a Seton Hall prof who reviewed this and found that the numbers changed

When W&Co. did try to quantify it the number returning to terror went from 12 to 7 to 5 to "some" to "a few" back up to 25 (must have needed a news cycle killed) now it is 61 or 37 depending on who you ask (see link below)

There appears to be no proof of any of this and the changing numbers smell of BS.

Speaking of BS

3. I will go ahead and highlight the parts we already know or that look really familiar

Some Freed Terrorism Detainees Return to the Fight
Just over 1 in 10 of those released from Guantánamo Bay are said to take up terrorist activities
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2009/01/13/some-freed-terrorism-detainees-return-to-the-fight.html
Posted January 13, 2009

The debate over closing the Guantánamo Bay military detention center in Cuba, long a campaign promise of President-elect Barack Obama, just got more complicated. New Pentagon intelligence asserts that 61 former Guantánamo Bay detainees, or about 11 percent of those who have been released, appear to have returned to involvement in terrorism.

While officials provided few details, the Defense Intelligence Agency numbers highlight the problem of what to do with the roughly 255 remaining detainees. Some of them have been cleared for release, subject to finding a country to take them.

Prior to the new report, the recidivism rate among those who had been held at Guantánamo and released was 7 percent confirmed or suspected of "returning to the fight"—a total of 37 former prisoners. According to the new figures, that number has increased to 11 percent, or 61 total, with 18 confirmed and 43 suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.

Longtime advocates of the closure of Guantánamo dispute the term "recidivism" and note that these figures could include those who were innocent but were radicalized as a result of mistreatment at the detention center.

[EFerrari]

1. Using the Pentagram's own numbers, the Seton Hall Law School study

could only confirm 1 (one) individual that actually returned to some kind of battlefield at the time when Rumsfeld was claiming 30+. I think I have the link to the pdf of the House committee hearing where the report was presented. I'll be back.

Here's a link to my thread last week. The hearing transcript is at the second link:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4821536

[underpants]

2. Excellent thanks

"The Bush administration says..." RED FLAG

[EFerrari]

3. It was imperative for them to push recidivism in order to deter Congress

from even IMAGINING giving these people due process, let alone, releasing those found to be innocent.

It's bullshit! It's all about protecting Cheney / Rumsfeld even more than protecting Bush.

Hissyspit posted Keith's report on this tonight in the video forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x263547

[struggle4progress]

4. The recidivism argument is incoherent on its face. Bushistas first

began trotting this crap out years ago, in order to "prove" that liberals were threatening the safety of the US: the threat associated with the alleged recidivism of released Guantanamo detainees was to be laid at the feet of liberals who supposedly had secured their release. This neat "proof" completely disintegrates once one realizes that every single detainee released during the Bush years was released entirely at the discretion of the Administration. Any alleged failure, to prevent the release of dangerous people, can only be attributed to those who released them, since none of those releases were compelled

But, in fact, a careful study has been done, and it has found one (1) case of "recidivism" -- a detainee oddly released by the administration although it was known that he posed a continuing threat. PDF files of the Seton Hall studies are available at: http://law.shu.edu/center_policyresearch/Guantanamo_Reports.htm