RECENT POSTS
- Under the Stars, Obama Toasts India’s Prime Minister
- White House State Dinner – Who Made the Exclusive Guest List?
- Admiral Mike Mullen To Geneva for START Talks
- VP Biden to Indian Prime Minister: “You’re the Hottest Ticket in Town”
- FLOTUS on the State Dinner: Like a Swan, "Calm and Serene Above Water, But We're Paddling Like Mad, Going Crazy Underneath"
- White House State Dinner: The Menu, Entertainment, and Decor
- Dan Pfeiffer, White House Blogger
- Guests Begin to Arrive for White House State Dinner Festivities
- President Obama on Afghanistan Strategy: “It Is My Intention to Finish the Job”
- The Obamas Kick off their First State Visit, Welcome India's Prime Minister to the White House
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
« Previous | Main | Next »
Bush Assails Those Who Offer Terrorists 'Therapy' -- Though His Administration Sent Detainees to Saudi Counseling Center
June 18, 2009 8:48 AM
At a speaking engagement last night, former President George W. Bush defended his administration's counterterrorism policies, including Guantanamo Bay, the Washington Times reports.
"The way I decided to address the problem was twofold: One, use every technique and tool within the law to bring terrorists to justice before they strike again," Mr. Bush said.
Refraining from directly criticizing President Obama, Mr. Bush said, "I'll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don't believe that persuasion isn't going to work. Therapy isn't going to cause terrorists to change their mind."
Interestingly, it was the Bush administration that sent some Gitmo detainees to a Saudi jihadi rehabilitation camp -- called the "Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Centre for Care and Counseling."
To decidedly mixed success.
Earlier this year the Saudi government published a list of 85 wanted terrorism suspects. Eleven of them had been prisoners at Guantanamo put through the Saudi rehabilitation program.
Said Ali al-Shihri, transferred to Saudi Arabia from Guantanamo during the Bush administration in 2007, is currently the deputy leader of al Qaeda's Yemen branch.
The Bush administration also released Gitmo detainee Ghulam Rasoul into the Saudi rehabilitation program. Now known as Mullah Abdullah Zakir, he's a leader against U.S. forces in southern Afghanistan, according to military and intelligence officials.
-- jpt
June 18, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (180)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
The Obama administration is like an amateur juggling act. Everything goes well until the juggler begins to lose control of the balls. And when balls such as Gitmo,gay rights, healthcare and Iran begin falling out of order-lookout!
Posted by: Les W | Jun 21, 2009 7:33:14 PM
It was good see former President Bush speak outin defense of presidency.History will accord his policies with bringing Islamic countries into the twenty-first century(as we already are occurring in Iran )
Posted by: Les W | Jun 21, 2009 7:14:26 PM
It was good see former President Bush speak outin defense of presidency.History will accord his policies with bringing Islamic countries into the twenty-first century(as we already are occurring in Iran )
Posted by: Les W | Jun 21, 2009 1:25:12 PM
It was good see former President Bush speak outin defense of presidency.History will accord his policies with bringing Islamic countries into the twenty-first century(as we already are occurring in Iran )
Posted by: Les W | Jun 21, 2009 1:07:05 PM
It was good see former President Bush speak outin defense of presidency.History will accord his policies with bringing Islamic countries into the twenty-first century(as we already are occurring in Iran )
Posted by: Les W | Jun 20, 2009 1:59:59 PM
PEOPLE, FORGET ABOUT THIS WHOLE BUSH SAID THIS AND THAT..... WE ALL KNOW WHAT HE WAS AND WHAT HE DID FOR 8 YEARS, WE HAD THE CHANCE TO KICK HIM OUT OF THE OFFICE AFTER FIRST 4YERS OF FIASCO, WHAT DO WE DO? BE MORE CONSERVATIVE AND PUT HIM IN TO SCREW US FOR 4 MORE. SO NOW AMERICAN PUBLIC HAS NO RIGHTS TO SAY A WORD, NOBODY PAYS ATTENTION TO WHAT BUSH SAYS NOW, HE IS HISTORY. AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE TO BE BLAMED FOR THIS MESS.
WE HAVE BIGGER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT. THINK ABOUT 228 PEOPLE WHO DIED AND SOME WHO'S BODIES WILL NEVER BE FOUND, THINK ABOUT THAT. DOES IT ALWAYS TAKE US AN INCIDENT TO LEARN ABOUT SAFETY? WHY HAVE WE NOT MORDENIZED OUR AIRCRAFTS WITH GPS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THEM TO BE TRACKED AT ALL TIMES. WE WORRY ABOUT UFO'S, WHEN WE HAVE OUR OWN PROBLEMS TO WORK ON..... LETS GET IT TOGETHER AMERICA.
Posted by: NC | Jun 19, 2009 10:30:38 AM
The Joker strikes back?
Posted by: Junior111 | Jun 19, 2009 10:12:30 AM
GO BUSH! Tell the truth! We certainly aren't going to get it from the administration we are currently under! All we're going to get is Socialism!
Posted by: J | Jun 19, 2009 8:58:49 AM
Mr. Tapper, you're not making a distinction between what GEN Petraeus called "reconcilables" and "irreconcilables". The ones who left Gitmo for the rehabilitation facility in Saudi Arabia are the ones the U.S. deemed changable. They are the ones who were involved in terrorism, in whatever capacity, for the sake of making money or because they were received bad Islamic teaching and the teaching, and their understanding, corrected.
It's a basic counterinsurgency strategy.
This is NOT what Obama is doing with Gitmo. Bush is making a distinction between Obama's one-size-fits-all policy at Gitmo and the Petraeus model, which as I said is basic counterinsurgency. There are rehab centers in Abu Ghraib as we speak carrying out the same mission, separating the "reconcilables" from the "irreconcilables" and reforming them. It has been quite successful, too.
Posted by: Amy Proctor | Jun 19, 2009 2:47:43 AM
Bush gets credit for keeping America safe? How delusional people can be ? Largest attack that killed 3000 people happened under BUSH's watch. He invaded a wrong country sacrificing another 4000 young men/women. Under his watch, largest economic meltdown occured vanishing trillions of dollar. This 2.3 GPA history major, who clearly got into Harvard because of his daddy, screwed the country for last eight years and now he knows how to fix? Do not make me laugh.
Posted by: Adam Habib | Jun 19, 2009 1:28:21 AM
President Bush is a class act next to the whiny teleprompter twit who does nothing but bash the former administration with every waking breath. We miss you, Mr. Bush! Keep speaking out!
Posted by: Sunnyr | Jun 19, 2009 12:33:28 AM
It's about time you started defending your administration from this whiny, self-absorbed, thin-skinned, vindictive, prima donna, Mr. Bush. Thank you for keeping our country safe for almost 8 years. I never thought I would see the day that I would wish you were back at the helm but at least you loved your country AND its' Constitution. And, God Bless you, you didn't need a freakin' Teleprompter 24/7. We miss you, President Bush! Big time!!!!!
Posted by: Sunnyr | Jun 19, 2009 12:28:08 AM
Bush Has Shown how big of a Snake he is. No doubt! President Obama know exactly what he is. That Bush still is quite a Joke, isn't he.
Posted by: tychisum | Jun 18, 2009 11:14:51 PM
He's still a Joke.
Posted by: tychisum | Jun 18, 2009 11:10:59 PM
Bush and his sidekick had there chance to get the job done, and they blew it. Now it's time for them to shut up and fade into the backround like other former presidents have done. History will show them as the worst to have ever held the office. Someone needs to tell them. It's better to keep quite and be thought a fool, then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Posted by: Werner | Jun 18, 2009 10:40:23 PM
"Bush needs somebody to explain to him that he's not President anymore, and then to shut his mouth."
Posted by: Jaylah
Yes, by all means, free speech be darned, let's silence all those who don't sing the praises of the current administration. Of course, Bush refrained from criticizing Obama, but in defending his own actions, it's seen as a criticism by people like Jaylah.
Posted by: What? | Jun 18, 2009 7:40:43 PM
To all revisionist historians Obama inherited this mess and that`s a fact. You can spin it all you want but my 4 year old wont even buy it.
Obama is fixing it now and everyone agrees the markets have stabilized now. There`s a lot of work ahead. Remember it too Bush and the repubs 8 years to put us in this mess.
Posted by: Norm | Jun 18, 2009 7:38:01 PM
Bush needs somebody to explain to him that he's not President anymore, and then to shut his mouth.
He's got plenty to keep him busy. He needs to start writing his memoirs (assuming he can remember anything(, plus planning and fund-raising for his presidential library (probably the only library he'll ever see the insides).
Of course, it's true that he and Laura can no longer go on vacation outside the US, or he'll get arrested for war crimes, but maybe they could go camping in Yellowstone for a couple of weeks, or something.
I'm sure other past presidents have disagreed with those who came after, but I don't remember any other president in my life-time that's been as intent on shooting his mouth off, slamming his successor once out of office, as this mental midget.
Posted by: Jaylah | Jun 18, 2009 7:33:07 PM
"It should be illegal to call yourselves news."
The Fox Right Wing Propaganda channel does have quite the same ring.
Posted by: Ryan C | Jun 18, 2009 7:08:06 PM
"Janet? Janet Napolitano? Is that you?"
Looks like she was right on the mark.
So for 2 right wingers have shot and killed cops, 1 killed an abortion doctor, 1 killed a guard at the Holocaust Museum and some racist Minute Men killed a 9 year old girl while trying to slaughter her family to blame on illegals.
Posted by: Ryan C | Jun 18, 2009 7:06:09 PM
Post a comment


