Should Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Be Sent Home to Yemen?
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With the Christmas Day bombing attempt now tied to Yemen, Yemeni prisoners could delay the closing of Guantánamo Bay. Should they be returned to their home country? Sent to northern Illinois? What about "re-education" programs like those in Saudi Arabia? Also, Democrats prepare to merge health bills behind closed doors, and body scanners and security in airports around the world.
Banner image: A group of detainees kneels during an early morning Islamic prayer in their camp at the US military prison for 'enemy combatants' in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
Making News
Democrats Prepare to Merge Health Bills behind Closed Doors ()
The House and Senate versions of healthcare reform might normally be resolved by a conference committee of chairman from both sides of Capitol Hill. But circumstances today are hardly normal. Starting this week, it appears that Democratic leaders will meet only among themselves, behind closed doors. Jeffrey Young covers healthcare for the newspaper The Hill.
Guests:
- Jeffrey Young: Healthcare Reporter, The Hill, @jeffreyyoung_hc
Links:
Main Topic
Should Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Be Sent Home to Yemen? ()
At least one Yemeni detainee sent home from Guantánamo Bay by the Bush Administration reportedly joined al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The Obama Administration has deemed Guantánamo such an important terrorist recruiting tool that it calls shutting it "a national security imperative." But what to do with 198 prisoners still there, about half of whom are from Yemen, where the Christmas Day bombing attempt reportedly began? If they're sent home, will they start plotting against the US? What about "re-education?" Does it work in Saudi Arabia? Could it work in Yemen? We hear about the history of repatriating detainees and what a growing controversy could mean for closing Guantánamo Bay.
Guests:
- Sudarsan Raghavan: Foreign Correspondent, Washington Post
- Christopher Boucek: Associate, Carnegie Middle East Program
- Marc Falkoff: Attorney representing 16 Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay
- Charles 'Cully' Stimson: former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, @cullystimson
Links:
- Justice Department on transfer of 12 Guantanamo detainees
- Raghavan's article on Yemeni officials playing down US partnership
- Boucek's paper on avoiding a downward spiral in Yemen
- 'Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak'
- TtP on closing Guantanamo, transfering detainees to Thomson Correctional Facility
Reporter's Notebook
How Effective Is High-Tech Screening for Fliers? ()
Experts insist that air travel can't be completely safe and that breaches of security are inevitable. But every incident inspires a re-examination of the costs and benefits of available options. Even before the President announced his review of the attempted bombing on Christmas Day, debate had begun over airport security in the US and around the world. Tom Frank of USA Today has more on what works as well as the costs, in both money and privacy?
Guests:
- Tom Frank: Reporter, USA Today
Links:
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