The Pentagon said Friday that it is not currently equipped to detain Islamic State prisoners for long periods of time, just days after the soon-to-be leader of U.S. Central Command said that’s a capability the U.S. needs to have.
Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said Friday that the U.S. decides how it will handle Islamic State fighters captured on the battlefield on a “case-by-case” basis.
“We’re not equipped for long-term detention. We’re not set up here for that, so we’re not in that business. But there is no real one-size-fits-all answer,” Warren said via video-conference from Baghdad. “As we take people off the battlefield, we’re just going to have to make decisions as we go.”
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., this week questioned top generals on where detainees would go when captured by the U.S., and asked if there would still be a need for long-term detention and interrogation to gain intelligence, such as the intelligence that led to killing Osama bin Laden.
“We just recently captured someone in ISIS and as I understand it, they’re being held short term and then they’re going to be turned back to the Kurds,” Ayotte said during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “You would agree that long-term interrogation was quite helpful, for example, in gathering the information we need to get bin Laden? That’s what worries me.”
“I would agree there is a requirement for long-term detention, senator,” responded Gen. Joseph Votel, the current head of U.S. Special Operations Command who has been tapped to lead U.S. Central Command.
Warren said holding a detainee “short-term” means around 14 to 30 days. The Islamic State chemical weapons emir captured by the U.S. was held for about two weeks before being transferred to the Iraqis, he said.
The administration released its plan last month to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, a priority for President Obama, but lawmakers criticized the proposal for not adequately addressing how future detainees in the war on the terrorist group will be held.
The president has made clear that he will not send any detainees to Gitmo during his time in office.
The U.S. recently captured two prisoners: Umm Sayyaf, the widow of a senior Islamic State fighter who was turned over to the Kurds, and the Islamic State’s chemical weapons emir, who was held by the U.S. for about two weeks before being turned over to Iraq, Warren said.
Warren stressed that even if detainees are not in U.S. custody long-term, they are being held by Iraqis so American interrogators can go back to question them at any time.
“This is not a catch and release program,” he said.
Asked if the U.S. is concerned that a prison break in Iraq could free these detainees, Warren said he’s confident that the Iraqis can hold the prisoners.
“If some escape, you know, we’ll just go catch them again or kill them,” he said.
