WASHINGTON – After admitting Wednesday that released detainees from Guantanamo Bay have in fact killed Americans, Representative Jackie Walorski (IN-02) Thursday requested a classified briefing from Paul Lewis, the Pentagon’s special envoy for Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility.
The letter read, “I write with significant concerns following your testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on March 23, 2016. While I understand your mission as the Department of Defense’s Special Envoy for Guantanamo Bay follows the Executive Orders issued by the Obama administration, I am deeply troubled by an answer you gave at yesterday’s hearing.”
“…You indicated that Americans have, in fact, lost their lives at the hands of detainees who were released from the Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However, despite this alarming claim, you defended the administration’s position that the risk posed by keeping Guantanamo Bay open is higher than if it were closed because of its role as a recruitment vehicle. As recent events in Paris, San Bernardino, Brussels, and elsewhere tragically highlight, these terrorist radicals will carry out unspeakable violence with or without the presence of Guantanamo Bay.”
According to the Associated Press, during testimony during a House committee Lewis said, “What I can tell you is unfortunately there have been Americans that have died because of (Guantanamo) detainees.”
Walorski requested Lewis provide a classified briefing to answer the following:
- The number of Americans killed by detainees formerly held at Guantanamo Bay;
- The number of former Guantanamo detainees who are confirmed or suspected of killing Americans;
- The circumstances detailing how this/these death(s) occurred;
- The locations where this/these death(s) occurred;
- The details outlining how the United States became aware of this/these casualty/casualties;
- The countries that this/these former Guantanamo detainee(s) were transferred to;
- The terms that were reached with this/these country/countries prior to the transfer;
- The number of other detainees transferred to that/those country/countries; and
- What actions (if any) that the United States government has taken since becoming aware of this/these American casualty/casualties either against the country/countries of transfer or against the former detainee(s) themselves.
Click here to read Walorski’s reaction to yesterday to Lewis’s comments. The letter in its entirety is below and here.
