Biden admin sends 11 Guantanamo detainees to Oman for resettlement – Fox News
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President of 9/11 Justice Brett Eagleson joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss a military court upholding plea deals given to three men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks.The Biden administration on Monday announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni detainees, including two former bodyguards for Osama bin Laden, being held at a U.S. naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to Oman, which has agreed to help re-settle them, amid steps to reduce the population at the controversial military facility. All of the men were captured in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and were held for more than two decades without being charged or put on trial, the New York Times reported.”The United States appreciates the willingness of the government of Oman and other partners to support ongoing U.S. efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the Defense Department said in a statement.BIDEN WHITE HOUSE TO SEND $1.25 BILLION IN WEAPON AID TO UKRAINE BEFORE TRUMP TRANSITION: REPORTIn this photo reviewed by U.S. military officials, the control tower of Camp VI detention facility is seen on April 17, 2019, in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)The White House referred questions from Fox News Digital to the DOD. The 11 detainees were identified as: Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi, Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani, Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, Sanad Ali Yislam Al Kazimi, Hassan Muhammad Ali Bib Attash, Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al Hajj, and Abd Al-Salam Al-Hilah.Ahmed al-Alwi, an alleged al Qaeda fighter and part of the security detail for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, was one of the 11 men released, the New York Post reported. In 2016, a declassified document said al-Alwi made several statements that suggested that he “maintains an extremist mindset.” Anam al Sharabi, another alleged bin Laden bodyguard, was also released. A 2020 declassified file said he was bin Laden’s bodyguard and trained in Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 attacks. He also “may have been associated with an aborted 9/11-style hijacking in Southwest Asia led by al-Qa’ida external operations chief Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.”Detainees prepare themselves for the evening prayer 04 March 2002 at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba by facing towards Mecca. (PETER MUHLY/AFP via Getty Images)The transfer was carried out as part of an early-morning secret operation on Monday, days before Mohammed, Guantanamo’s most notorious prisoner, was scheduled to plead guilty to plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in exchange for a life sentence rather than face a death-penalty trial, the Times reported. That deal given to Mohammed and co-conspirators Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi has been heacvily criticized by Republicans and 9/11 families. The move had been in the works for about three years after an initial plan to conduct the transfer in October 2023 faced opposition from congressional lawmakers. JUDGE RESTORES CONTROVERSIAL 9/11 TERRORIST PLEA DEALS INVOLVING KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED: REPORTIn this April 17, 2019 image, the control tower is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)Authorities didn’t say why the detainees were delivered to Oman, one of the United States’ most stable allies in the Middle East, or what it gave the host country. The men in the latest transfer included Shaqawi al Hajj, who had undergone repeated hunger strikes and hospitalizations at Guantanamo to protest his 21 years in prison.With the release, the total number of men detained at Guantanamo is just 15, the fewest since 2002, the year it was turned into a detention site to house men from around the world arrested in connection with the “War on Terror.”The transfer leaves six never-charged men still being held at Guantanamo, two convicted and sentenced inmates, and seven others charged with the 2001 attacks, the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, and 2002 bombings in Bali.Khalid Sheikh Mohammad is held at Guantanamo Bay. (Getty Images)CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPMost of those at Guantanamo are from Yemen, a country ravaged by war and now dominated by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and
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Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admin-sends-11-guantanamo-detainees-oman-resettlement
