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Guantanamo's Yemeni Detainees Epitomize a U.S. Security Concern
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But the program, modeled on a successful rehabilitation program in Saudi Arabia, is still only a concept and lacks financing and personnel, including religious scholars capable of engaging and mitigating extremist ideologies.
Moreover, according to the Combating Terrorism Center study, a previous rehabilitation program in Yemen "now appears to be a failure." A total of 354 individuals participated in that program, largely a religious dialogue run by a Yemeni Supreme Court justice, and were then released. But there was almost no post-release support such as helping the detainees find jobs and wives, key elements of the Saudi initiative.
A number of graduates returned to the fight, including three of the seven men identified as participants in the September bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. Also adding to U.S. concerns, 23 terrorism suspects, reportedly with inside help, broke out of a Yemeni prison in 2006 and went on to spearhead a surge in violence. The Yemeni port of Aden was the site of the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, which killed 17 service members.
"Yemen is another country of concern, a place where al-Qaeda is strengthening," CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said in a speech last week. "We've seen an unprecedented number of attacks this year, 2008, including two on our embassy. Plots are increasing not only in number but in sophistication, and the range of targets is broadening.
"Al-Qaeda cells are operating from remote tribal areas where the government has traditionally had very little authority, and they're being led or reinforced by veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Among those held at Guantanamo who have not been charged are the brother of the deputy commander of al-Qaeda in Yemen. Four other detainees are brothers of al-Qaeda suspects who were part of the 2006 jailbreak, according to the Combating Terrorism Center.
Albasha said the country's first rehabilitation program was "an initial experiment, and, like most experiments, things go wrong." But he said he hopes the Obama administration will at least partially fund a new, more systematic program, which the current administration estimates could cost $10 million to $20 million.
"The costs of finding a solution to this problem are far cheaper than the costs of maintaining the status quo," the Combating Terrorism Center concluded.
Or, as Albasha put it: "If you solve the Yemeni issue, you solve the Guantanamo issue."
