Wow! Putting jihadists in detention works 85% of the time!

FRONT PAGE: "1 In 7 Detainees Rejoin Jihadists, Pentagon Finds: A Return to Terrorism; Guantanamo Findings Still 'Under Review,' Military Says," by Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, 21 May 2009.

I say, give it up to Gitmo if spending some time there means 85% of the detainees don't return to terrorism.

Good God! Compare that to the recidivism rate for common criminals in the U.S. penitentiary system.

Comments

[rblx]

That assumes that those released were all terrorists in the first place. Or maybe the 1 in 7 "recidivists" weren't terrorists originally, but wanted to get even for their incarceration.

[CN, Edinburgh]

Indeed that looks like an impressive figure. But it's well documented that not everyone taken to Gitmo was a warrior on the battlefield. It shouldn't be too surprising that arrested Sudani journalists, Chinese Uighar nationalists, and others who have spent time in Gitmo are not - and never were - actively involved in terrorism.

[Tom Barnett]

Good point!