20% of Released Guantanamo detainees go back to fighting (Update)

A classified Pentagon assessment measuring the recidivism rate of released Guantanamo detainees indicates one in five – 20 percent – of them return to jihad. Previous reports in Dec. 2008 (11 percent) and April 2009 (14 percent) shows a trend as the more dangerous terrorists are released over time.

In increase could also just be a reflection of time. Maybe they are taking less “time off” before jumping into the game or getting bored trying to work in the real world. The recidivism rate can only get worse as those remaining in Guantanamo must obviously be more dangerous than those previously released. From Reuters over at Yahoo! News. (Hat tip to Mark Levin who just mentioned the article on his show.)

A classified Pentagon assessment shows about one in five detainees released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay has joined or is suspected of joining militant groups like al Qaeda, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

… More than 560 detainees from Guantanamo have been released, the vast majority of them by the Bush administration.

An Obama administration official said the White House had received “no information that suggests that any of the detainees transferred by this administration have returned to the fight.”

Six Yemeni detainees were sent home days before the December 25 attempted bombing. There are 198 detainees left at Guantanamo, which once held 750, Pentagon officials said. Among those still being held there, roughly 91 are Yemeni.

If 560 have been released and 20 percent are going back to the fight, that’s 100 terrorists – hard-core terrorists – back on the street. That percentage is certain to go higher as time goes on, especially if we continue to release terrorists back to countries like Yemen who are in no way responsible enough to monitor them.

Earlier this morning, Ed Morrissey at Hot Air noted a UK Times Online story on the (at least) one dozen Gitmo detainees who returned to fight in Yemen.

Update: AP at Hot Air Steve at Sweetness & Light picked up on the 20 percent story last night too.

Are Americans comfortable with the rehabilitation programs offered to terrorists returned to Saudi Arabia?

In the program we see the Saudis providing a private jumbo jet to bring inmates home from Guantanamo Bay, giving them a hero’s welcome, then sending them to a converted holiday resort for re-education. Then, the men are set free.

How would this work for sex offenders in the United States?

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