McGinty'S Dangerous Guantanamo Closure Efforts Continue Despite Alarming Problems

Press Release

As President Obama begins to release terror detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, Katie McGinty continues to support this dangerous policy. With national security concerns rising to the forefront, it's clear that Katie McGinty is out of step with Pennsylvania voters.

"When Katie McGinty applauds efforts to close Guantanamo Bay and release terrorists despite the fact that former detainees have already gone back and killed Americans, it speaks volumes about how dangerous her foreign policy is," said Toomey for Senate spokesman Ted Kwong. "In the wake of the Orlando tragedy, we need to be taking action to strengthen our national security, not weaken it. McGinty should recognize the bipartisan calls and renounce her support for this extreme policy."

A man from Yemen who spent the past 14 years in custody at Guantanamo Bay has been freed and sent to the Balkan nation of Montenegro, the Pentagon saidWednesday, marking the start of what is expected to be a new round of releases from the U.S. base in Cuba. (Ben Cox, "US starts expected series of releases from Guantanamo prison,"Associated Press, 6/22/16)

This is despite the fact that President Obama's own Justice Department voiced concerns about plans to close Guantanamo this week:

President Barack Obama is again facing dissent from within his administration -- this time from Attorney General Loretta Lynch - over his plans to shutter the Guantanamo Bay military prison, according to senior administration officials. (Charles Levinson, "Exclusive: Justice Department opposes new Obama proposal on Guantanamo," Reuters, 6/21/16)

In fact, it was revealed earlier this month that one released Guantanamo detainee is missing and unaccounted for by law enforcement:

A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner transferred to Uruguay in 2014 has vanished and is believed to have left the country under uncertain circumstances, U.S. officials said. Law enforcement is now searching for the former detainee, Syrian national Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab, in Brazil, a U.S. official said. (Missy Ryan, "Law enforcement searching for former Guantanamo detainee in South America," The Washington Post, 6/17/16)

Most alarmingly this month, it was discovered that at least a dozen released Guantanamo prisoners have launched terrorist attacks and killed Americans since being set free:

The Obama administration believes that at least 12 detainees released from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have launched attacks against U.S. or allied forces in Afghanistan, killing about a half-dozen Americans, according to current and former U.S. officials.

In March, a senior Pentagon official made a startling admission to lawmakers when he acknowledged that former Guantanamo inmates were responsible for the deaths of Americans overseas.

The official, Paul Lewis, who oversees Guantanamo issues at the Defense Department, provided no details, and the Obama administration has since declined to elaborate publicly on his statement because the intelligence behind it is classified.

But The Washington Post has learned additional details about the suspected attacks, including the approximate number of detainees and victims involved and the fact that, while most of the incidents were directed at military personnel, the dead also included one American civilian: a female aid worker who died in Afghanistan in 2008. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, declined to give an exact number for Americans killed or wounded in the attacks, saying the figure is classified. (Adam Goldman and Missy Ryan, "At least 12 released Guantanamo detainees implicated in attacks on Americans," The Washington Post, 6/8/16)

BACKGROUND:

Katie McGinty Applauds President Obama's Effort To Close Guantanamo Bay. "Former state Environmental Protection Secretary Katie McGinty said in a statement that she "applauds' the president's effort but that she has some questions and wants to review it in more detail." (Laura Olson, "Joe Sestak Talks Guantanamo Bay Closure, National Security During Allentown Campaign Stop," The Morning Call, 2/23/16)

Numerous Democrats Have Denounced This Plan, But Not McGinty. "Catherine Cortez Masto became the latest Democratic Senate candidate to refuse to support President Barack Obama's plan to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. ... Cortez Masto isn't the only Democratic Senate candidate breaking ranks in response to Obama's plan. In New Hampshire, Gov. Maggie Hassan, another battleground-state Democrat running against Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte, said she is 'skeptical' of Obama's plans and whether they would adequately ensure national security, WMUR reported. Democrats' candidate in Missouri, Jason Kander, has also spoken out against it. And in Colorado, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet got ahead of the White House announcement, releasing a statement rejecting a plan to send prisoners to his state, even though he has voted in favor of closing the detention facility." (Theodoric Meyer, "House incumbents shelling out ahead of March primaries," Politico's Morning Score Tipsheet, 2/25/16)

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