Reader Responses

In response to Elvin Taylor's letter of June 30.:

Here's what's really going on in Guantanamo.

Three years ago, Adbullah Saleh Ali Al-Ajmi was safely locked up at Guantanamo. Two weeks ago, he blew himself up in Mosul, Iraq, brutally murdering seven people.

How was he released? Easy, his American lawyer walked him out the front door.

Despite strong arguments from U.S. counterterrorism analysts that Al-Ajmi should under no circumstances be freed because: He deserted from the Kuwaiti army to participate in jihad in Afghanistan. The Taliban supplied him with arms, including grenades. He admitted fighting with the Taliban, including engaging in two or three firefights. He was captured by coalition forces in the Tora Bora region, an area thought to be a hideout of Osama bin Laden. Upon his arrival at Guantanamo, he demonstrated "aggressive" behavior. Based on a review of documented evidence, al-Ajmi was declared a threat to the United States and its allies.

Yet, once Al-Ajim's lawyers denied the charges, the U.S. government sent him back to Kuwait. Now his family refers to him as "martyr Abdullah." His innocent victims are not so revered.

Nevertheless, the international community, Sen. Barack Obama and his party are simply desperate for us to close Guantanamo. And it looks as if they're going to get their wish. Just since last week, the United States released three more Guantanamo detainees, including Sami al-Haj, a suspected courier for al-Qaida.

Terrifying? Yes. Surprising? It shouldn't be. The number of released detainees returning to the Taliban and al-Qaida to commit atrocities is estimated at 30. More will follow. Now you should start praying, for the rest of us.

Bill Bala
Mineola