Are not up to the job, and a diplomatic agreement to do the job is not worth the paper it is notten on if a country does have the resources, does not have the training, to keep committed terrorists from returning to the about to the battlefield. The administration has sent guantanamo terrorists to these countries anyway. Andeceive this committee the American People is deeply disturbing. When given the opportunity to correct the record for the committee, they ignored us. I appreciate that the administration finally responded on tuesday, but it should not take the calling of a hearing to elicit a return letter, especially on something as consequential as this. This committee has an obligation to conduct oversight. While we have differences of opinion over guantanamo policy, i do not read anyone here finds of the administrations business acceptable. Should anyone think the committees concerns are theoretical, and specifically, i was pressing on these terrorists who had been transferred to her uay, it is notg theoretical because now jihad is an Al Qaeda Linked terrorist sent from guantanamo to or apply to uruguay. We sounded the alarm about their lack of legal framework. We explained about their Critical Resources to prevent travel out of the country that that was lacking in the case of uruguay. What is the result . Last month, e. G. Had the op disappeared last month, it jihad had disappeared. He had testified daesh government of the government of uruguay had taken steps. He is believed the headed back ia orlia or yemen syrui yemen. We have been waiting answers to the inquiry. While i have been patient, the president has been in a rush, seemingly willing to release tontanamo terrorists wherever he can. I wish we were not here today. Holding another guantanamo hearing this week was not my intention. Patience hasnd my run out. I now turn to the ranking member. Thank you, mr. Chairman, mr. Wolosky, and mr. Lewis. Time, you gentlemen were here, i made my views on the guantanamo prison pretty clear and i would ask that my Opening Statement from that hearing be included as part of the record of this hearing. To recap, that prison should be closed. Ofional Security Experts both parties agree with me. I have a letter here from 36 retired generals and admirals calling or the prisons closure. I ask is that it be included in the record. At the prison is a waste of money and a propaganda tool for terrorist. And of story, as far as the prison goes. Issues raisede about transferred detainees in the last hearing that deserves some followup. I say transferred rather than release because it is an expensive process that goes into removing a detainee from the prison, sending him to another country. It is not as though they are just that loose. It is important to know how exactly we are monitoring transferred detainees and assessing the risk that they pose. Rep. Engel it are good questions. Because they deal with intelligence methods, we can only discuss them in a disclosed, classified setting. My understanding is that the administration offered to do just that and that offer was rebuffed. I hope that after this hearing, in a few weeks or so, we can have a closed, classified setting to get answers to some questions that you are not really allowed to say here in open session. So, why are we here . The title of todays hearing is demanding accountability. Requests release, its ugly peoples minds are made up. I want to make sure all the facts are on the table. There is plenty of blame to go all around. The chairman raises legitimate issues, but i do think there is plenty of blame to go around. The vast majority of guantanamo detainees were transferred out of the prison before president obama took office, a total of 780 detainees have been held in guantanamo, during the Bush Administration, 500 were transferred out, compared to 150 nine detainees under president obama. Secondly, let us look under the number of transferred detainees who returned to the battlefield. Thrownure 30 gets around a lot. It turns out it includes the total number of transferred detainees that we know for sure have returned for sure to the fight as well as those suspected of reengagement over the entire life of guantanamo prison 2001 to present. During the bush years, 2001 to 2008, the greatest suspected and confirmed cases of reengagement with actually higher than that, 35 , with 21 of the cases confirmed and 14 suspected. Let me say that again. More than one third of the terrorist in president bushs administration transferred to have returned to the fight. Thes contrast that with Obama Administration. Under president obama, that number, totaling suspected and confirmed cases, dropped to 13 . A percent suspected, 5 confirmed. 8 suspected, 5 confirmed. I want to have a balanced hearing here because if we have already made up our minds in talking about the administration being reckless, it does not seem to me like youre really here to learn anything more. I reiterate, 13 of those transferred since january 2009 have reengaged compared to as much as 30 provide percent 35 during the Previous Administration. The contrast is striking. Let us not get lost in the numbers. This is the most important point, transferred the trainees who returned to the battlefield and killed americans were let out during the Bush Administration, not during the Obama Administration. If we are going to paint with a broad brush and say that 30 of transfer detainees may be going back to the battlefront and killing americans, we need to put the story in perspective. The Bush Administration racked up that average and then some. The Obama Administration has helped to bring it back down. Thirdly, the plant would not transfer any person who does not meet the most stringent criteria. I have heard claims that the remaining detainees are the worst of the worst and the Administration Simply want to turn them loose. That is false. 29 of 79 it remaining detainees are cleared for transfer. Among them, 22 yemenis. The administration is not transferring them yet. We transferred detainees to their home countries. In the case of yemen, the government cannot provide Adequate Security assurances. We need to find countries that can provide adequate assurances before those 22 are transferred. That leaves 50. Some of these are really bad guys. 10 of them will stand trial. Another 40 are being legitimately held as prisoners of war. Under no circumstances, in my opinion, is the Obama Administration simply opening the gate and releasing dangerous terrorists onto the street. Guantanamo is a mess and it always has been. No one is blameless. No one can cherry pick single cases to paint a picture good or bad. Do,ink that what we should after this, instead of having the witnesses come and tell us that they can only tell us things in a classified briefing is to spend our time with them after this hearing in a few we can be in a closed setting, getting to the bottom of this matter. Now, the Foreign Affairs committee obviously has oversight on this issue. March andg last todays hearing are the only two times the committee has taken up this issue in nearly 15 years that the guantanamo prison has been open. Since we have our top guantanamo experts with us today, i hope you can give us your opinions of some interesting ideas we have recently heard about that prison. I am going to be do a few quotes. It you may recognize them. I will give you a hint, it is one of the candidates running for president. There is a first this morning, i watched present obama talk about president obama talk about gitmo, Guantanamo Bay, which by the way, were keeping open. Second, torture works, ok folks, believe me, it works, and waterboarding is actually torture. Lets assume it is. They asked me the question, what do you think of waterboarding, absolutely fine, but we should go much stronger than waterboarding. We should go much stronger because our country is in trouble. I just want to say that i read , some people say they want to expand the guantanamo prison and torture, that i cant think of a worse proposal for our National Security. These schemes would only harm us with our allies and provide at ammunition provide to our enemies. Maybe we can hear it your views on what would happen if we went in that direction . Ats, but ing tit for t think its not really fair to blame the imagination for all the frustrations we have about guantanamo when we see that there were problems and wrong things done in the previous administers as well. I look forward to listening to you and hearing your thoughts. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Engel. Mr. Now here for the special advisor for guantanamo. He served as the director for transnational threats on the National Security council under president clinton. Mr. Paul lewis is joining us. We are pleased that he is here, special envoy for guantanamo detention at the u. S. Department of defense. Previously, he served as both the general counsel and the minority general counsel on the u. S. Armed services committee. Without objection, the witnesses full prepared statements will be made part of the record. Members will have five calendar days to submit any statement or questions or any extraneous material they might want to submit for the record. I would like to remind everyone, including our witnesses, that ful false statements is a criminal offense. Indeed, that is the case for all of our hearing, and special envoy wolosky, please make your remarks. Thank you very much. Good morning. I appreciate your inviting you once again to appear before the committee. I look forward to continuing our discussion in closed session either later today as we have offered or as soon as possible so that we can have a fuller discussion of some of the classified topic that we know are of interest to the committee. Altogether, a total of 779 detainees have passed through guantanamo, and of those, 700 have departed. The vast majority of detainees transferred out of guantanamo to 532, weretries, some transferred by the administration of george w. Bush. Under president obama, a total of 159 detainees have been transferred. Today, 79 remain. President bush acted to whittle the detainee population because he understood that, and i quote, the detention facility had become a propaganda tool for our enemies and a distraction for our allies. President obama has continued detainee transfers for many of the same reasons. Of the 79 detainees detained at guantanamo today, 29 are currently approved for transfer. Detainees have been designated as approved for transfer during this administration for one of two rigorous interagency processes. First, soon after taking office, theident obama ordered firstever comprehensive interagency review of all the 242 detainees than in u. S. Custody. The000 nine and 2010, Guantanamo Review Task force, sometimes also called the executive order task force, as was comprised of more than 60 National Security professionals from across the government, assembled all reasonably available information relevant to determining an appropriate detainee. N for each based on the task forces recommendation, the department of defense, state, justice, and homeland security, the office of director for national intelligence, and a joint chiefs of staff, unanimously determine the appropriate disposition for each detainee, transfer, referral for prosecution, or continued detention. Second, pursuant to executive 13567, detainees who are not approved for transfer into thousand nine and 2010, could be and 2010, in 2009 could be subject to a review board. Prb presented as our political appointees. I would now like to briefly describe the process for transferring detainees. Decisions regarding whether, when, and where to transfer a detainee are the culmination of interagencyrous process. The department of state leave diplomatic negotiations with foreign governments regarding transfer of guantanamo detainees, but we are typically joined in our discussions by senior career officials from the defense, justice, and homeland security, as well as those in the Intelligence Committee and in the joint staff. Generally, transfer negotiations occur in two steps. The u. S. Government obtains or reconfirms a political commitment that the potential receiving country is willing in principle to resettle repatriate detainees and to propose various measures that will substantially mitigate the threat the detainees may pose after transfer. Withcond, discussions foreign officials responsible for implementing these. To share best practices from previous detainee transfers, and perhaps most importantly, to determine, based on an individualized assessment of the specific circumstances, whether can be met. Andards once we conclude that our diplomatic negotiations will result in a Security Framework that we assessed will substantially mitigate the threat a detainee may pose after transfer, secretary of defense consult with secretaries of ande, homeland security, the attorney general, the director of national intelligence, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff on the transfer. Only after the secretary of defense receives the views of those principles, and only if he is satisfied that the doesrements are satisfied, he sign and transmit the certification to the congress. Ladies and gentlemen of the committee, let me close by saying that although we would obviously preferred that no former detainees engage in terrorist or insurgent activity, following their transfer, we believe that the low rate of confirmed the engagement for detainees transferred since isuary 2009, under 5 , testament to the rigorous approach the imagination has taken to approving detainees for transfer and to negotiating and vetting detainee transfer framework. I look forward to your questions. Thank you, mr. Lewis. The thing was to members of the committee, representative donovan, thank you for the regardingy to testify the administrations guantanamo detainee transfer process. Secretary carter has approved 43ransfer of 43 caney, detainees. During this administration, 159 detainees have been transferred. Esther chairman, we understand the importance of this issue to we in this committee and appreciate the attention you have given to it. As i stated in march at the outset, i would like to reiterate one continuing fundamental point regarding this facility. The president and his National Security facility have determined that closing that detention facility is a National Security imperative. Therative is a strong term, president and his leadership of the National Security team believe that the continued pensionn of the good facility weakens our National Security. Closing guantanamo is about protecting country, not weakening it. The importance of closing the detention facility is echoed by former president george w. Bush and a long list of former secretaries of state, secretaries of defense, staff chairman, and other former military leaders. El noted, atative eng former commandant of the marine corps. Transferred from gitmo are in the National Security interest of the United States and are conducted in a safe and responsible manner. On march 23, 2016, i testified before this committee. During that hearing, i was asked whether the department of ever knowingly transfer a detainee to a country that did not exhibit an ability to substantially mitigate the risks or control the individual. The of that question, i stated that the department of defense did not conduct such a transfer. Weeketter we sent you this , we addressed or concerns. I apologize for the late response. I want to briefly highlight several points. Here is our statutory framework. The 2016 nba requires that at in addition to other requirements, the secretary of defense certif toy congress that the receiving country has taken or agree to take steps to substantially mitigate any risk the individual could attempt to reengage or otherwise certain the United States. Otherwise threaten the United States. We have met that requirement. Prior to the transfer of any detainee to a foreign country, the United States government receive security assurances from the country regarding the actions that the receiving country has taken or agrees to take to substantially mitigate the risk. After the assurance is received, they go through the best process a robust process. Importantly, updated intelligence, medical and compliance information is provided to each country regarding the detainees under consideration for the transfer. They traveled to gitmo to interview transfer candidates. After full consideration of all this information including a full update assessment, the secretary makes a determination that i fully about earlier. As secretary carter has testified and secretary hagel testified, they take this responsibility very seriously. Secretary carter has said he will not transfer a detainee that he does not believe is in the security interest of the United States to do so. These transfers have not been conducted in a vacuum, sir. Each transfer is formally notified to the congress and we regularly brief congress on transfers. With the notice of each transfer, we offer congressional leadership and all the National Security committees. I appreciate the opportunity we have had to regularly brief you and your staff regarding these transfers. Briefly, i think it is important to put these recent transfer decisions on Foreign Policy context for this committee. Any countries and the International Community want to close gitmo. Many countries in the International Committee wanted close gitmo. Guantanamo detainees that are not nationals of the country. Additionally, there is sustained support for our closure efforts from <