Publications 'The Eleven': Saudi Gitmo Veterans Returning to the Fight
'The Eleven': Saudi Gitmo Veterans Returning to the Fight
Last Updated (Tuesday, 22 December 2009 07:12) Written by Evan Kohlmann Saturday, 31 January 2009 19:00
The NEFA Foundation has released a new report by NEFA Senior Investigator Evan Kohlmann titled, “The Eleven: Saudi Guantanamo Veterans Returning to the Fight.” The report includes in-depth profiles of eleven former Saudi detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who are now listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s roster of its 85 “most wanted” terrorist suspects. The NEFA report notes, “for all the brimming confidence in their “Afghan” credentials, the detailed accounts of these men offer credible reasons to doubt their actual military capabilities… These men now face somewhat of a daunting challenge to prove their military capabilities in the face of their relatively young age and their lack of sustained frontline combat experience… In fact, the major distinction between men like al-Shehri and al-Harbi versus previous generations of Al-Qaida leadership in Saudi Arabia is that they have chosen to launch their operations from a lawless Bedouin-style sanctuary just beyond Saudi borders in Yemen—instead of the risky urban warfare model adopted by Abdelaziz al-Muqrin and his contemporaries… It remains to be seen whether the intriguing decision to move the central Al-Qaida leadership beyond the reach of the Saudi Interior Ministry—and away from urban areas tightly packed with Muslim civilians—will have a significant long-term strategic impact in terms of addressing the group’s litany of setbacks.”
