"High Value" Gitmo Detainee Released By Obama Admin.

Exhibit P in the case that the Obama Administration is weak on Islamic terrorism as Abdullahi Sudi Arale was released from Gitmo to Somalia (Weekly Standard).

In June 2007, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman called Arale a "high-value detainee." That phrase was reserved for less than twenty detainees. As far as I know, the U.S. has never transferred a "high-value detainee" from its custody. One "high-value detainee," Ahmed Ghailani, was transferred to New York for trial. But he is, of course, still detained by the U.S. Does this mean that Arale was the first "high-value detainee" ever transferred from American custody?

This is some background on Arale from WS.

“Abdullahi Sudi Arale is suspected of being a member of the Al Qaeda terrorist network in East Africa, serving as a courier between East Africa Al Qaeda (EAAQ) and Al Qaeda in Pakistan. Since his return from Pakistan to Somalia in September 2006, he has held a leadership role in the EAAQ-affiliated Somali Council of Islamic Courts (CIC).

There is significant information available indicating that Arale has been assisting various EAAQ-affiliated extremists in acquiring weapons and explosives, and has facilitated terrorist travel by providing false documents for AQ and EAAQ-affiliates and foreign fighters traveling into Somalia. Arale played a significant role in the re-emergence of the CIC in Mogadishu.”

...What changed? Does the DOD now believe that Arale was wrongly detained, or that he is no longer a threat? Perhaps that is possible, but there are good reasons to doubt that is the case.

The writer, Thomas Joscelyn, suspects the Obama Administration was behind the move for the following reason.

...When I visited Guantanamo earlier this month, I spoke with Brigadier General Timothy Lake, who took over as Deputy Commander for Joint Task Force Guantanamo in October. Lake reiterated several times that he and his staff have “zero input” and “zero influence” over the Obama administration’s transfer decisions.
Instead, Lake said, they “provide information to the legal system” –- meaning the Department of Justice and the State Department.

In other words, the DOJ and Foggy Bottom control transfer decisions, not the military officials who have been responsible for detaining, interrogating, and analyzing the intelligence collected on each Gitmo detainee. That is not surprising. Lake’s comments reinforce what we’ve known for some months. The DOJ, in particular, plays a leading role in President Obama’s interagency review board, which in turn makes transfer decisions.

But the official word on all things Gitmo from terrorist friendly AG Eric Holder? Just trust us.