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Trump administration signals ISIS foreign fighters could be sent to Guantanamo Bay
Source: ABC News
Trump administration signals ISIS foreign fighters could be sent to Guantanamo Bay
President Donald Trump has sent no new individuals to Guantanamo.
By Conor Finnegan and Elizabeth McLaughlinFeb 22, 2019 11:43 AM ET
As President Donald Trump seeks to wind down the fight against the Islamic State in Syria, his administration is increasingly leaving open the possibility that some of the group's foreign fighters be sent to the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Trump has advocated as a private citizen, presidential candidate and even while in office to move more detainees to the facility. It was a stark contrast to his predecessor, who unsuccessfully sought to close it. As president, however, Trump has sent no one to Guantanamo.
Instead, his administration is pushing for foreign ISIS fighters detained in Syria to be returned to their home countries, in the region and in Europe. That effort has, so far, been met with mixed success.
Administration officials, including the State Department's deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino, have said options for foreign fighters who cannot be repatriated include Guantanamo, sometimes referred to as Gitmo.
"Our preferred first option would certainly be repatriation and prosecution, keeping (foreign terrorist fighters) locked up in countries of origin when possible, where possible," a senior State Department official told ABC News. "But when countries aren't willing to take responsibility for their own citizens that went and fought for the Islamic State, if they are high-value detainees, and members of ISIS leadership, then we're going to make certain that they remain off the battlefield. One way of doing that might include sending them to Gitmo."
-snip-
President Donald Trump has sent no new individuals to Guantanamo.
By Conor Finnegan and Elizabeth McLaughlinFeb 22, 2019 11:43 AM ET
As President Donald Trump seeks to wind down the fight against the Islamic State in Syria, his administration is increasingly leaving open the possibility that some of the group's foreign fighters be sent to the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Trump has advocated as a private citizen, presidential candidate and even while in office to move more detainees to the facility. It was a stark contrast to his predecessor, who unsuccessfully sought to close it. As president, however, Trump has sent no one to Guantanamo.
Instead, his administration is pushing for foreign ISIS fighters detained in Syria to be returned to their home countries, in the region and in Europe. That effort has, so far, been met with mixed success.
Administration officials, including the State Department's deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino, have said options for foreign fighters who cannot be repatriated include Guantanamo, sometimes referred to as Gitmo.
"Our preferred first option would certainly be repatriation and prosecution, keeping (foreign terrorist fighters) locked up in countries of origin when possible, where possible," a senior State Department official told ABC News. "But when countries aren't willing to take responsibility for their own citizens that went and fought for the Islamic State, if they are high-value detainees, and members of ISIS leadership, then we're going to make certain that they remain off the battlefield. One way of doing that might include sending them to Gitmo."
-snip-
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-signals-isis-foreign-fighters-guantanamo-bay/story?id=61225014