Ready to return to the fight after a year of R & R.
Republican lawmakers have accused former Guantanamo Bay detainees of taking part in militant activity following their release in a swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl a year ago, and have warned President Obama against allowing the lapse of security restrictions on them.
In a letter sent this week to the White House, all Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee urged Obama to ensure that Qatar does not permit the five former Taliban officials to leave the tiny gulf nation when their one-year travel ban expires on May 31. They have been living under government supervision there for the last year.
“Despite the current restrictions … it is clear to the Committee that the five former detainees have participated in activities that threaten U.S. and coalition personnel and are counter to U.S. national security interests – not unlike their activities before they were detained,” the lawmakers wrote.
In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, the lawmakers provided no details about the nature of those activities. But the lawmakers said that, based on their examination of the detainees’ records since release, the U.S. government should have “low confidence” in its ability to effectively track the men’s activities from afar.
“If, as scheduled, Qatar permits these five former detainees to possess passports and travel to Afghanistan or Pakistan … they will be at liberty to play an even more direct role in attacks against the men and women of our military,” the lawmakers wrote.