7 October, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
As you know, the Department of Defense has since September 11, 2001 detained at Guantanamo individuals identified or treated as enemy combatants. Yet, shortly after you took office in January of 2009, you issued an Executive Order mandating the closure by January 22, 2010 of the detention/interrogation facilities at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility, U.S. Naval Base, Cuba (popularly known as Gitmo.)
Our past experience as military, intelligence, law enforcement and security policy professionals leads us to believe that the transfer of Guantanamo detainees into the United States would threaten national security and public safety.
For example, prisoners transferred to U.S. prisons would turn those prisons – and the nearby civilian populations – into high-probability terrorist targets. Based on past experience in Guantanamo, they would also expose prison staff to unique threats, physical risks and legal liabilities. FBI Director Robert Mueller has warned that the high-value prisoners will also contribute to the radicalization of prison populations. Detainees will pressure prison officials to remove special security restrictions and will receive due process and other rights that may force the government to choose between revealing classified evidence to secure a conviction in a U.S. court or dropping charges against dangerous terrorists and releasing them from prison. Over 500 lawyers describing themselves as the “Gitmo Bar” stand ready to file the paperwork to free any detainees transferred to U.S. prisons.
If detainees are released and cannot be resettled abroad securely, they may be resettled inside the United States. Worse yet, according to Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, U.S. taxpayers may be required to provide financial support for such detainees to “start a new life” here.
Moreover, the Department of Defense asserts that at least 61 of the 520 detainees released from Gitmo so far are confirmed or suspected of having returned to terrorism – other Department sources put the number at 102 of 520 detainees.
For these reasons, we believe strongly that the detainees should not be transferred to any locale in the United States or its territories, and should be kept at Guantanamo Bay until a more permanent and secure alternative is found. Today, potential national and local security risks greatly outweigh any prospective economic benefits for states under consideration for such transfers.
In conclusion, as a matter of national security, we strongly advise that the Department of Defense and other federal or state agencies spend no funds to accomplish the closure of Guantanamo detention facilities or the transfer of Guantanamo detainees into the United States. All efforts should be made to enable state representatives to have opportunities to visit Gitmo and to be briefed on the risks associated with the management of Gitmo detainees.
Sincerely,
Army
Gen. Frederick J. Kroesen, USA (Ret.)
Maj. Gen. Thomas F. Cole, USA (Ret.)
Maj. Gen. Vincent E. Falter, USA (Ret.)
Maj. Gen. Alvin W. Jones, USA (Ret.)
Maj. Gen. Henry D. Robertson, USA (Ret.)
Maj. Gen. Mel Thrash, USA (Ret.)
Brig. Gen. Francis A. Hughes, USA (Ret.)
Brig. Gen. Ronald K. Kerwood, USA (Ret.)
Brig. Gen. Gary J. Tellier, USA (Ret.)
Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu, USA (Ret.) Author of Inside Gitmo: The True Story Behind the Myths of Guantanamo Bay
Navy
Adm. Jerry Johnson, USN (Ret.)
Adm. James “Ace” Lyons, USN (Ret.)
Vice Adm. Robert Monroe, USN (Ret.)
Vice Adm. David C. Richardson, USN (Ret.)
Rear Adm. Lawrence Burkhardt III, USN (Ret.)
Rear Adm. H.E. Gerhard, USN (Ret.)
Rear Adm. James M. Gleim, USN (Ret.)
Rear Adm. Robert H. Gormley, USN (Ret.)
Rear Adm. James B. Morin, USN (Ret.)
Rear Adm. Robert S. Owens, USN (Ret.)
Rear Adm. Don G. Primeau, USN (Ret.)
Rear Adm. Rollo Rieve, USN (Ret.)
Rear Adm. Hugh Scott, USN (Ret.)
Air Force
Gen. Charles A. Horner, USAF (Ret.)
Lt. Gen. E.G. “Buck” Shuler, Jr., USAF (Ret.)
Lt. Gen. William H. Ginn, Jr., USAF (Ret.)
Maj. Gen. Charles L. Wilson, USAF (Ret.)
Brig. Gen. Bernard W. Gann, USAF (Ret.)
Marine Corps
Gen. P.X. Kelley, USMC (Ret.)
Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Higginbotham, USMC (Ret.)
Maj. Gen. Joseph D. Stewart, USMC (Ret.)
Brig. Gen. William A. Bloomer, USMC (Ret.)
Brig. Gen. Gary E. Brown, USMC (Ret.)
Brig. Gen. M.A. Johnson, Jr., USMC (Ret.)
Brig. Gen. William L. McCulloch, USMC (Ret.)
Brig. Gen. William Weise, USMC (Ret.)
National Security
R. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence
Tidal McCoy, former Acting Secretary of the Air Force
Andrew C. McCarthy, former Chief Assistant United States Attorney
Bradford A. Berenson, Associate Counsel to the President, 2001-2003
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy
Dr. Peter Leitner, President, Higgins Counter-Terrorism Research Center
Elaine Donnelly, 1992 Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Services
cc: Members of the 111th Congress
The Honorable Robert M. Gates, Secretary, U.S. Department of Defense
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr. Attorney General of the United States
The Honorable Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence
The Honorable Robert Mueller, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation