The Terrorists We Are Setting Free

The Department of Justice announced on Thursday evening that two detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison have been released to Algeria.

The Algerian nationals, Hasan Zemiri and Adil Hadi al Jazairi Bin Hamlili, were returned to the Algerian government upon agreement of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Departments of Defense, State, Justice and Homeland Security.

Let’s take a look at these fine individuals who are now free to roam, rev up their friends with tall tales of the ‘injustices’ and ‘abusive’ treatment at Guantanamo and plan more terrorist attacks on the United States.

Hasan Zemiri, 42, was a Montreal friend of Ahmed Ressam and a co-conspirator of the Los Angeles Millennium plot. Hasan Zemiri provided Ahmed Ressam with a camera and $3,500 in order to help him with the plot. He was already arrested once at Niagara Falls in 1998 but was released on bail and eventually made his way to Afghanistan after the plot failed. Hasan Zemiri was arrested in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in 12/2001.

Adil Hadi al-Jazairi Bin Hamlili, 34, a former member of the Algeiran Armed Islamic Group –and the former personal representative of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan .

It also serves to note that Algeria has seen an increased terrorist presence in the past few years with the activities of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (an officially al-Qaeda sanctioned affiliate that battles the Algerian government in order to forcibly establish an Islamic state, as well as attacking, European and American targets).

Let us pray, that I am wrong. Let us pray that these detainees will go to Algeria, thank their lucky stars that the had the ACLU on their side and open a Jihad themed coffee shop which specializes in Petite Fours. Unfortunately, looking at past history of other Guantanamo detainees, I am fearful of what the future may hold for these newly freed men.

Take for example, Mohammed Ismail, who was released from the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in early 2004 and sent back to Afghanistan to be set free. Within four months, he was recaptured in Afghanistan as a result of attacking U.S. troops there.

Another example would be Abdullah Gulam Rasoul, who was released from Guantanamo in December 2007 and set free in Afghanistan. Rasoul has become a powerful Taliban military commander in southern Afghanistan, and the United States suspects he is responsible for several attacks on U.S. forces there. He seems to have built “rock star status” among the Taliban, by using his Guantanamo experience to ‘rev the troops’

These are just two examples former Guantanamo Bay detainees who the military says were active in, or were suspected of being active in, fighting against the United States or committing terrorist acts after being released.

In fact, in May of last year the Pentagon released information that showed 14 percent of former detainees have turned to, or are suspected of having turned to, terrorism activity since being released from Guantanamo.

Wow, that’s swell!