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Department of Defense Refuses to Disclose Names of
Gitmo Detainees Back in the Fight -- Here's Why

By Gordon Cucullu
February 5, 2009

The Pentagon is under increasing criticism by Guantanamo activists and opponents. While citing recidivism numbers, Defense officials refuse to give details, even to releasing the names in some cases of the former detainees who have returned to the fight.

Though opponents demand explicit details of every case before they will buy the Pentagon's figures, capricious release of such information is harmful to national security. Many of the released detainees have returned to the fight and have been killed in combat operations. Such details are generally easy to provide and Defense has done so.

But what of those who have been recaptured and currently being interrogated? Or others, identified in al Qaeda videos and propaganda pieces or informed upon by other terrorists?

Many of these identifications, far from being arbitrary or designed to obfuscate reality as anti-Gitmo activists claim, are actually being held close-hold due to urgent security requirements. In the eyes of intelligence operators it may be risky to even tell what we know publicly, but to disclose details of how we know and how much we know is sheer folly.

Our agencies are intercepting al Qaeda communications nets. Analysts hear the name of an operative that they identify as a released Guantanamo detainee. This information may become part of the "suspected" list challenged so vociferously by Guantanamo opponents. But disclosing details of how we came to this information would compromise the effectiveness of the intercept operation itself and close it as a font of continued data.

Frequently other captured al Qaeda fighters will "give up" their fellows. To state categorically that information derives from interrogations - much less to identify the source - paints a target on that person's chest and dries him up as an intelligence asset. Similar concerns exist over field sources, both voluntary and paid.

Once underway, analysts understand the need for compartmentalization of information. In lay terms that translates into "need to know." It is based on the ancient precept: you can't tell what you don't know.

It is critically important to recognize that intelligence gathering is a process not an event. Unlike TV and Hollywood depictions of complete information being derived from a single source, good analysts are jigsaw puzzle assemblers. They take a bit here, a piece there, and put them together to grow an information base that translates to actionable intelligence.

So when you hear Defense spokespersons speaking in generalities about intelligence information understand that there are good, solid reasons for their reluctance to disclose fully: people's lives depend on their secrecy.


Examples / Related Articles

Quote

"[Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell] declined to provide details such as the identity of the former detainees, why and where they were released or what actions they have taken since leaving U.S. custody...

"'Until enough information is provided to allow the press and the public to verify these claims, they need to be viewed with a healthy degree of skepticism,' said Jennifer Daskal, a Washington-based lawyer for Human Rights Watch..."




Seton Hall Law press release
Department of Defense Wrong Again
on Guantánamo “Recidivism”

January 15, 2009


Quote

“Once again, they’ve failed to identify names, numbers, dates, times, places, or acts upon which their report relies. Every time they have been required to identify the parties, the DOD has been forced to retract their false IDs and their numbers..."




CBS News
Guantanamo Detainees In Limbo
by Phil Hirschkorn
Jan. 25, 2009


Quote

"The military claims 61 have done so; however, they have declined to release a complete list of their names."

 

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Chapter Summaries & Source Documents

The chapter summaries and source document libraries as based on the end notes within Inside Gitmo are currently under construction. They will be completed by the book's January 27th release date.

Preface and Introduction
Guantanamo, the Myth and Reality

Chapter 1
Why Guantanamo?


Chapter 2
Muhammad al Qahtani:
A Terrorist Case Study


Chapter 3 
In the Beginning: Camp X-Ray

Chapter 4 
Camp Delta's Mission:
A Work in Progress


Chapter 5
Meet the "Foreign Fighters"

Chapter 6
Maximum Security: Camps I, II, and III

Chapter 7 
Compliance Rewarded:
Inside the Camp IV Wire


Chapter 8
Segregation and Supervision:
Camps V and VI


Chapter 9
Camps Echo, Iguana, and
a "Secret" CIA Installation


Chapter 10
Daily Life at Gitmo

Chapter 11
Meet the American Military

Chapter 12
Hunger Strikes: Asymmetrical
Warfare in Action


Chapter 13
The Value of Intelligence

Chapter 14
The Future of Guantanamo:
Critiques and Recommendations

 

Join the Inside Gitmo discussion group

The Inside Gitmo email-based discussion group on Guantanamo's detention facility is intended to encourage rational, civil discussion of the myriad issues and problems associated with the facility, the detainees, and the staff.

Note that in the coming months I will be participating in dozens of radio shows across the country, and asked to speak on Guantanamo topics in a variety of different venues.

Rather than operating in a vacuum, the questions, comments, thoughts and exchanges from a wide variety of different people will enrich my perspectives and understanding of what others think and believe about Guantanamo.

Journalists, lawmakers, analysts, students, law enforcement professionals, and foreign affairs experts are encouraged to join.

If you would like to participate -- or just listen in -- then click here to join us.

What Others Are Saying

Monica Crowley photo"I've also been 'inside GITMO,' and Cucullu's riveting account shows why we've been safer with it and why we may soon regret being without it."— Monica Crowley, host of the Monica Crowley Show and author of Nixon in Winter 

Ralph Peters photo"Our new president should read it — twice — and take its truth-telling to heart." — Ralph Peters, columnist and author of Looking For Trouble

Victor Davis Hanson photo"Every relevant military and civilian official should give Cucullu's analysis a fair hearing." — Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of An Autumn of War

Oliver North photo"An explosive expos of what's really been happening - 'inside the wire' at Guantanamo. Gordon Cucullu - with his Special Forces background, thorough research and extensive visits to Gitmo - knows more about the now-infamous detention facility than any 'outsider.' This book is a must-read for all who care about how we protect ourselves from those who are dying to kill us." — Oliver North, LtCol USMC (Ret.), host of War Stories on FOX News Channel & NYT bestselling author of American Heroes in the Fight Against Radical Islam

Frank Gaffney photo"Inside Gitmo is a book of incalculable importance. It lays bare the myths and the stakes involved in the campaign to shut down a facility that any objective reader must conclude is vital to our national security. Every policy-maker in Washington and every citizen across America should study this books brilliant first-hand reporting and its alarming findings." Frank Gaffney, Jr, President, Center for Security Policy and author of War Footing

Douglas Feith photo"Gordon Cucullu has written a lively work of history that fulfills its promise to explode 'the myths of Guantanamo Bay.' Anyone who wants to speak authoritatively about the Bush administration's detainee policies has to read this book." Douglas J. Feith, senior fellow, Hudson Institute, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and author of War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism

The "Living Book" Concept

The "Living Book" Concept

This companion web site to Inside Gitmo was conceived and executed by Avery Johnson in collaboration with Chuck Martin. As a highly skilled, experienced researcher, Avery imposes strict demands on her work and that of author's with whom she works. Every stated fact must be backed by hard documentation. Hence readers find 524 citations in Inside Gitmo from a multiplicity of sources. Avery took that as "a good start."

Her concept - that you can interact with on these pages - is that with an issue as dynamic and multi-faceted as Guantanamo is too large to be captured only in a work of print. In order to complement and supplement the final work so that readers may continue to be apprised of developments on this critical subject and dig deeper into subjects that interest them, it is necessary and valuable to take advantage of technology.

Illustrative of this concept is that this site functions as a repository for all original documents used in the book as well as providing additional sources for continued research into the subject. For readers seeking context for specific passages referenced in the book, the site provides access to the original report, news article, book, or other source quoted. By so doing we are able to circumvent necessary space limitations in print by augmenting the book with electronic back-up.

Additionally, the site goes where print cannot: it provides an email based discussion group, videos, updated news articles, a blog, podcasts, and other resources. It highlights new developments, steers readers to newly published works, and offers visitors the opportunity to purchase relevant works from the site.

I think that this concept - a continually updated, vibrant companion website for a published book with complete references included - ought to be the new gold standard in publishing and strongly urge new and proven writers and authors to advantage themselves of these services.

Avery Johnson and her team can be contacted at avery.j@comcast.net.

About the Author

I'm a retired Green Beret lieutenant colonel, Vietnam War veteran and career officer, and now a writer. After serving more than thirteen years in East Asia I was sent on assignments in El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and eventually worked Korea and East Asian affairs at both the Pentagon and Department of State.

My many adventures since then have included raising llamas and alpacas in upstate New York, serving as the Executive Director of the Korea Society in Manhattan, working as an international marketing VP for General Electric in Asia, and traveling within corners of the world that few have had the privilege of experiencing.

In April-May 2008 I spent a month embedded with Military Police units in Iraq. Stories from my trip are posted at supportamericansoldiers.com — a book about what I saw and learned is also in the making.

My first book Separated at Birth: How North Korea became the Evil Twin was published in September 2004.


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