REVIEWING THE ROADMAP OR RETURN OF YEMEN'S GTMO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 001212


FOR DOD/OS ALAN LIOTTA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2018
TAG: PTER, KDRG, YM
SUBJECT: REVIEWING THE ROADMAP OR RETURN OF YEMEN'S GTMO
DETAINEES

REF: SANAA 1147

Classified By: Ambassador Stephen A. Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).



1. (U) This is an action request. See para. 6.


2. (C) On July 20, the Ambassador met with Ammar Saleh,
Deputy Director of Yemen's National Security Bureau, to
discuss the eleven items that comprise the roadmap for the
return of Yemeni detainees in Guantanamo (GTMO),presented
initially during the visit of a joint State-DOD delegation on
July 1 (reftel). As the Ambassador went through the list,
Saleh provided positive feedback and useful suggestions,
indicating that the ROYG hopes to have a suitable facility
and re-education program in place by early October.


3. (C) Saleh reluctantly identified himself as the single
person in charge of the program and the "one to blame," at
least until the program is up and running and he can hand it
over to someone else. In response to a suggestion from the
Ambassador that we identify one of the points for immediate
action, as a way to generate momentum, he promised a quick
turn-around on providing US authorities a comprehensive
report on thirteen former detainees returned to Yemen. Saleh
further promised to work with the Embassy to identify ten
candidates from among extremists already held by the ROYG to
enroll in the first run of the rehabilitation program. Saleh
made a point of saying that these candidates should pose a
real challenge to the ROYG, in order to test their system,
and requested that Yemen receive credit for this test
rehabilitation class from the USG.


4. (C) Saleh agreed to the inclusion of Minister of Religious
Guidance and Endowment, Judge Hamoud al-Hitar, in the
rehabilitation program, saying, "of course, where else could
we get religious scholars?" He proposed hiring retired
Political Security Office (PSO) officers to serve as guards,
and using prefab buildings to speed up establishment of the
initial program. He warned, though, that if detainees were
returned before the Yemeni rehabilitation program was up and
running (estimated after Eid al-Fitr, i.e., early October)
that the returnees would not/not receive rehabilitation and
would be held only temporarily in PSO prisons before
appearing before a judge, who would almost certainly free
them. He identified locating a venue for the rehabilitation
camp as a major issue for the ROYG to grapple with, and even
solicited suggestions from the Embassy regarding potential
locations.


5. (C) Saleh asked the Ambassador to deliver recordings of
interviews between a ROYG delegation to GTMO and Yemeni
detainees conducted during a February visit. These
recordings would enable the ROYG to create a prioritized list
of those individuals eligible for return based on the level
of threat they pose. He also asked for technical assistance
for the construction of the facility and monitoring devices,
and stated that while the ROYG would finance construction of
the initial facility to receive the first 10 detainees, any
expansion would depend on USG support.


6. (C) Comment and Action Request: Ammar Saleh's expressed
reluctance to take on the responsibilities of managing the
GTMO-detainee program notwithstanding, he engaged quite
readily in the discussion on particulars, and was candid
about where he believes progress can be made, a timeline for
steps that can be taken, and where he envisions problems.
Certainly, the fact that the ROYG has yet to identify a
facility to which a detainee reception center and rehab
program can be appended is a cause for some concern, and post
will use what we understand is interest on the part of INL to
support creation of such a facility as an incentive for the
ROYG to move on this issue as quickly as possible. In the
meantime, we request that the recordings of the February
interviews between ROYG officials and Yemeni nationals at
GTMO be provided to Ammar Saleh so that this information can
help inform ROYG efforts to assist in the creation of a
prioritized list of detainees for return, according to the
level of security threat they may pose. End Comment and
Action Request.


SECHE