The White House-overseen jailbreak continues:
More detainees are slowly and quietly being released from U.S. detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Five captives were released last week and more are set for December, although defense officials have been vague about numbers, the Journal said.
Just 143 detainees remain at the facility now, down from a high of close to 800 in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
No surprise here. O wanted to do this all at once five years ago, but couldn't even get that past the then-Donk SuperCongress, and in the next cycle it was impolitic to do so during his re-election campaign. So he waited. Now that he'll never face the voters again and the Donk Senate is history, there's nothing preventing him from throwing open Gitmo's doors and letting the remaining jihadists run wild, bloodthirsty, and free. Beats me why he's doing it quietly. It's not as though the Bowe Berghdahl-Taliban Five trade did him any political damage.
The interesting detail is the connection with another recent development:
The releases have also turned political. While Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel must approve transfers out, he apparently tangled with the White House over his pace, favoring a full investigation to ensure the captives would not be a risk to U.S. security once freed, Politico reported.
U.S. News & World Report cited Maddow Blog writer Steve Benen, who outlined the political chess going on behind Hagel's back before his resignation was announced earlier this week, noting that his attitude on Guantanamo and releasing detainees was a part of his departure.
The question is not why Barack Obama ever hired Chuck Hagel as is SecDef. The answer to that is obvious: He wanted the completion of his decimation of the U.S. military to have a Republican face. The question is why Chuck Hagel ever accepted Barack Obama's offer. Clearly the joke was on him.
Although the consequences are not going to leave any of us laughing.
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