^{_{MIDWEST AND BEYOND ∣ EXPLORE A WORLD OF CONTENT}}

Under Biden, The Department of Defense has announced on January 6th 2025, that 11 Yemeni prisoners from Guantanamo Bay are to be resettled in Oman.

Oman is a country that is near Saudi Arabia.

What and where is Guantanamo Bay.

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in January 2002 by U.S. President George W. Bush to hold terrorism suspects and “illegal enemy combatants” during the Global War on Terrorism following the attacks of September 11, 2001. (Wikipedia)

“According to U.S. Defense Department records, all the Yemeni men are former al-Qaeda members, although many of them dispute the U.S. accounts of their backgrounds.” (NPR)

Detananee: Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani, was found eligible for transfer based on the framework established by Executive Order 13492, which focuses on the review of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The remaining ten detainees were cleared under the Periodic Review.The Periodic Review Board, was instituted by an Executive Order in 2011.

Currently, 15 detainees remain in Guantanamo, with 3 eligible for transfer, 3 undergoing the Periodic Review Board process, 7 involved in military commissions, and 2 having received convictions.All of the detainees, captured in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks, have spent over two decades in custody without facing charges.

The Biden administration is making strides, trying to close Guantanamo Bay.

Objections from both Democrats and Republican releasing Guantanamo detainees stem from fears of national security risks, intensified by the wars in the Middle East.(NPR)

The detainees include: Uthman Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Uthman, Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, Khalid Ahmed Qassim, Suhayl Abdul Anam al Sharabi, Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, Tawfiq Nasir Awad Al-Bihani, Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, Sanad Ali Yislam Al Kazimi, Hassan Muhammad Ali Bib Attash, Sharqawi Abdu Ali Al Hajj, and Abd Al-Salam Al-Hilah. ( U.S Department of Defense)

These detainees were captured in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and now are awaiting release and transfer to the county of Oman. There are still some questions that haven’t been answered by the Biden Administration. Will these detainees pose a threat again once transferred to another country, will they be incarcerated again, or free in their new country of residence in Oman?

Reference List

Ref; _{https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4022534/guantanamo-bay-detainee-transfer-announced/}

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/06/nx-s1-5249126/u-s-transfers-guantanamo-prisoners-oman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp

_{https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_east_gate,_Guantanamo_Bay,_Cuba.jpg}