The administration is being forced to answer the question of what it’ll do with Islamic State detainees, and some members of Congress aren’t happy with its response.
An Islamic State member was captured this week by a group of elite U.S. special operators in northern Iraq. The detainee, who officials are declining to name, is being interrogated by Americans at a temporary detention facility in Irbil and will be turned over to Iraqi or Kurdish officials, the New York Times reported.
But Sen. Kelly Ayotte is calling for the terrorist to be sent to Guantanamo Bay.
“ISIS continues to pose a dangerous threat to the U.S. and our allies, and the capture of a high-ranking ISIS terrorist is a significant opportunity to gather valuable intelligence and prevent future attacks,” the New Hampshire Republican said in a statement. “The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is designed specifically for this purpose.”
The administration released a plan last month to close the detention center that did not answer the question of how it would deal with future detainees, only saying that it would be on a case-by-case basis. The one thing President Obama has made clear is that, wherever future detainees go, they will not be added to the population at Gitmo under his watch.
As the New York Times reports that the U.S. special operators will likely capture more detainees, Ayotte said this incident demonstrates the “urgent need for a long-term detention policy for future terrorists.”
Even some of the military’s top leaders don’t seem to know where they will send captured terrorists. Appearing before the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee this week, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller seemed unsure if he would still send captured Islamic State members to Gitmo.
“If you captured somebody tomorrow in the Marine Corps who is a high value target in the war on terror, what would you do with them, general?” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked during the hearing.
“We’d have to have someplace to detain them,” Neller replied.
“Do you know where that place is?” Graham said.
“Right now, it’s Guantanamo,” Neller said.
“Can you use Guantanamo?” Graham asked.
“Sir, I don’t know the answer to that,” Neller said.
“I do. The answer is no,” Graham said.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said his service would be in the same position.
