Contact: Josh Holly; 202.226.3988
Washington D.C. – U.S. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Republican Duncan Hunter (R-CA) today issued the following statement following the Pentagon’s release of the unclassified transcript from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s enemy combatant status review tribunal (CSRT):
“Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has now admitted that he was either complicit or had been the primary actor in dozens of terrorist attacks against the United States. His admission clearly shows why we need to keep our detention facility at Guantanamo open.
“It has been suggested by a number of Democrats that we should close Guantanamo because it’s somehow unfair to hold detainees, and that we need to immediately try or release those terrorists being held at Guantanamo. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is responsible for thousands of American deaths and he is representative of the terrorists who are being held at Guantanamo.
“Clearly, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s admission that he has killed thousands of Americans, and is inclined to kill lots more if he is released, shows why we need to have a place like Guantanamo to hold these dangerous people who threaten our national security off the battlefield.
“The closure of Guantanamo would accrue to the detriment of every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine that is exposed on the battlefields around the world.”
# # #