State Dept. Says ‘Very Few’ Gitmo Detainees Return to Terror

State Department: ‘Very Few’ Freed Gitmo Detainees Return to Terrorism (The Washington Free Beacon)

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday that “very few” released Guantanamo Bay detainees return to terrorism while addressing the transfer of 15 Gitmo prisoners by the Obama administration.

President Obama, who has sought to close Gitmo since he took office, sent 15 detainees to the United Arab Emirates this week, the largest single transfer of prisoners from the detention facility of his presidency. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.) said the 12 Yemenis and three Afghans in the transfer are “among the worst terrorists who could jeopardize our national security and the lives of our troops.”

A reporter asked Toner whether the government could guarantee recidivism wouldn’t happen, and if not, why release the prisoners.

“The detainees have been vetted through what is a very rigorous process, and I can assure you that it’s a very rigorous process—looked at all of the, you know, whether they would return to the battlefield,” Toner said. “Recidivism, I guess, is the terminology used. Is it 100 percent foolproof? Have there been no cases or zero cases of this happening? Well, no. There have been cases of it, but very few.”