The Biden administration had been poised to send about a dozen Guantanamo Bay detainees to Oman for resettlement last year, administration officials said, but administration officials said the decision was made in response to questions from Congress about Middle East security after Hamas attacks on Israel. The secret operation was suddenly halted.
None of the prisoners had ever been charged with a crime, and all had been cleared for transfer by the National Security Review Board.
A military cargo plane was already on the airstrip at Guantanamo Bay ready to airlift a group of Yemeni prisoners to Oman, but the transport was halted, according to a person familiar with military operations.
All that could be taken with them had been gathered, and the prisoners were informed that they would soon be leaving. The plane then took off empty and their belongings returned.
Details of such operations are kept classified for the safety of the U.S. military aircrews transporting the men. But U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the transfer of detainees is considered secret until completed, confirmed the mission was called off after NBC published its report on Monday.
The transfer delays signal the continued struggle of the Biden administration to find countries willing to hold and resettle the 16 released men of the 30 men held at Guantanamo. Such a deal would require diplomacy, intelligence involvement, and advance notice to Congress.
The United States has long considered Oman a loyal ally and a peaceful country located 1,500 miles from Gaza. Oman prides itself as a neutral mediator between competing regional powers.
On Monday night, White House National Security Council Press Secretary Adrian Watson described Oman as a “trusted partner” who “works closely with the United States on a variety of priorities, including the reintegration of Guantanamo detainees.” .
Last year, U.S. diplomatic and national security officials reached an agreement with Oman to send prisoners there. However, the plan faced opposition during a closed-door briefing session in parliament in October, effectively the eve of the transfer. Democrats have expressed concerns to the State Department and intelligence officials about the potential for instability in the Middle East in the aftermath of Hamas attacks on Israel, according to administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive mission.
The administration agreed to postpone the move and review the arrangement, and two government officials said Monday that the process was continuing. Pentagon policy does not allow new transfer dates to be announced until the prisoners have left.
Guantanamo prisoners awaiting transfer are from countries considered too unstable or dangerous to repatriate, particularly Yemen, and the United States is working with allies and partners to receive them for rehabilitation and resettlement. assistance should be sought.
In the Cuban detention center’s 20-year history, approximately 750 detainees have been transferred through repatriation or resettlement, most of them through covert military operations. Some participants were sidelined or delayed due to diplomatic troubles, changes in host country leadership, or U.S. military operational concerns.
For example, in late 2014, a military cargo plane carrying five detainees from Guantanamo to Central Asia departed on a long-planned transfer but turned back due to mechanical problems mid-air. The Pentagon delayed public announcement of the operation, which it deemed a classified national security operation, until a new C-17 cargo plane and crew were dispatched to the base to pick up detainees and Special Guards and transport them to Kazakhstan. did.
Oman’s rehabilitation program took in 30 detainees between 2015 and 2017. Most of them were from Yemen, which borders Oman. Many of them have married there and are now having children, but it is unclear whether they have integrated well into society.
According to the Taliban, two of the men sent to Oman are Afghan nationals and were repatriated earlier this year after seven years under house arrest.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at the time that the men were being repatriated because security terms negotiated between the U.S. and Oman at the time of their 2017 removal had expired.
Watson said that through its rehabilitation program, the Omani government “continues to deliver on its guarantees of humane treatment and safety for detainees sent to the country in recent years, in some cases for much longer than expected.” Stated.
“Given the strength of Oman’s program, we will continue to work closely with Omani authorities on these issues,” she added.
Lawyers for the released prisoners have commented on the halted transfers and the atmosphere inside Guantanamo’s six minimum-security camps, where men approved for release are kept separate from so-called high-value detainees. refuses to speak.
The Biden administration’s push to reduce the prison population is part of a renewed commitment to prison closures that President Barack Obama failed to fulfill. But the effort has reignited some of the criticism and opposition from the Obama administration.
Congress has no power to stop deportations to Oman. However, by law, you will receive at least 30 days’ confidential notice of each pending transfer, giving you time to object.
The law prevents the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo to the United States for any reason.
In addition to Yemen, deportations to Libya, Sudan and Syria have long been prohibited as they are deemed too politically unstable or violent for safe repatriation.
Congress added Afghanistan to the list after the administration repatriated former Afghan militiamen in 2022 with help from Qatar. A federal court found that the prisoner had been unlawfully detained and ordered his release.
