WASHINGTON – Senate Armed Services Committee
Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., this week urged the White House to appoint an
official to spearhead an interagency effort to oversee the process of
relocating detainees at Guantanamo Bay who have been cleared for transfer.
Levin fought for a national security waiver that provides for the transfer of
detainees in appropriate cases. More than 80 detainees who have been cleared
for transfer are still awaiting departure from Guantanamo. Expediting this
process is critical to advancing the goal of closing GITMO, as the president
has called for.
The text of Levin’s letter to the White House follows:
May 6, 2013
Ms. Kathryn Ruemmler
Assistant to the President and
Counsel to the President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Ms. Ruemmler:
At a press conference last week, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to
close the detention facility at Guantanamo (GITMO) because, as he pointed out,
it is expensive, inefficient, damaging to the United States’ international
standing, reduces the cooperation of our allies in countering terrorism, and
serves as a recruiting tool for extremists. The President said he had
asked his staff to review all options for addressing the GITMO issue and
expressed the desire to re-engage with Congress on this.
I recognize that Congress has made the process of relocating GITMO detainees to
third countries more difficult by imposing certification requirements on such
transfers. However, more than a year ago, I successfully fought for a
national security waiver that provides a clear route for the transfer of
detainees to third countries in appropriate cases, i.e., to make sure the
certification requirements do not constitute an effective prohibition.
I urge the President to appoint an
official inside the White House to spearhead an interagency effort to determine
which of the more than eighty detainees who have already been cleared for
transfer by the Guantanamo Detainee Review Task Force meet the certification
(and waiver) requirements, and to actively work for their transfer. High
level leadership on detainee transfers is critical to advancing the goal of
closing GITMO.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Carl Levin
Chairman
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