Obama Says Gitmo Created Al Qaeda (Somebody Needs a History Lesson)
With all the hoopla about Gitmo detainees and the Yemen connection to the “underwear bomber”, Obama came out to assure people that he still had every intention of closing Gitmo. But what he said raises eyebrows.
Transcript:
Finally some have suggested that the events on Christmas Day should cause us to revisit the decision to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. So let me be clear.
It was always our intent to transfer detainees, to other countries, only under conditions that provide assurances that our security is being protected. With respect to Yemen in particular, there is an ongoing security situation which we have been confronting for some time, along with our Yemeni partner.
Given the unsettled situation, I’ve spoken to the attorney general. And we’ve agreed that we will not be transferring additional detainees back to Yemen at this time.
But make no mistake. We will close Guantanamo prison, which has damaged our national security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for al Qaeda.
In fact, that was an explicit rationale for the formation of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
And as I’ve always said, we will do so — we will close the prison in a manner that keeps the American people safe and secure.
Obama might have been a constitutional lawyer, but he definitely is clueless when it comes to history.
Even Bruce Reidel, former CIA official and al Qaeda expert stated :
Yemen has been a safe haven and stronghold of al Qaeda since the late 1990s. Yemen is where Osama Bin Laden’s family originates from, in the southwestern part of the country. ABC
So once more, this is another “blame George Bush” line. When will Obama start to take responsibility for his own actions?