Brace yourself. The two al Qaeda leaders who claim to be behind the Christmas plane bombing attempt were once prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. At least until November 2007, at which point they were released to Saudi Arabia. After transferring from Cuba to Arabia, they were enrolled into an “art therapy rehabilitation program.”
Again for emphasis: “art therapy rehabilitation program.”
The prisoners, Muhamad Attik al-Harbi and Said Ali Shari, prisoners #333 and #372, respectively, were released from all forms detainment shortly thereafter. Upon release, they rejoined al Qaeda, became ‘military commanders,’ and began to plot the attempted bombing on Northwest Flight 253. Or so they claim. But maybe they’re lying. The reality is that it doesn’t matter. Even if the role they attained after their release was merely ‘dude on camera who makes false claims,’ we still have a problem. These were just two guys that were released under the Bush administration. As of yet, I have been unable to find (on the internet) any speculation on why they were let go, but it seems reasonable to assume it was due to some level of political pressure (as we all know how fond the Bush admin. was of letting terrorists loose).
So what can we assume will happen when Obama decides to shut down the entire prison? The worst part about this is that the “art rehabilitation program” was not experimental, or a ‘trial-run’, on this specific group of Gitmo transfers. It is an established and long-running system that has been and will continue to be employed. Maybe I’m shallow or uncultured, or maybe I just don’t understand the philosophical impact of art, but what kind of blind idiocy is behind this scheme? Or rather, who is the mastermind terrorist that coordinated this incredible facade?
I’m just curious, what constitutes a ‘passing grade’ in this art class? If the student doesn’t draw a turban-toting stick figure with some jockeys full of pentaerythritol tetranitrate does he get let go? I encourage you to watch the video linked below – it is absolutely horrifying, yet darkly comedic at the same time. It is footage from the Saudi’s art rehab which they say has “had its failures but overall, the effort has helped return potential terrorists to a meaningful life.” You don’t make a terrorist rehab program that “has failures.” Better yet, you don’t make terrorist rehab programs. My favorite part of the video is when they all pass around a box of donuts.
