Aamer, father of four, was willing "to become a martyr" and was a "sub-commander of al-Qaida forces in Tora-Bora" who is a high risk and threat and has a "high intelligence value."
After a review of all the things he agreed to say after being beaten by his initial captors, kidnappers in Afghanistan who turned him over to Americans at Bagram Air Base, where he was mistreated, the rear admiral writing this assessment of Aamer concluded, "Detainee is uncooperative and continues to withhold information of intelligence value about his extremist activities and associations. Detainee has failed to fully account for his travels and high level associates which have been reported by other JTF-GTMO detainees. Detainee is extremely egotistical, has manipulated debriefers and guard staff, and will continue to attempt to do so to support his political agenda. Detainee refuses to participate in direct questioning, often citing imaginary, or assumed mistreatment of himself, or others, as justification of this refusal in a classic example of al-Qaida counter interrogation techniques."
Aamer imagined his mistreatment. He had more intelligence to give. He was engaged in "classic" terrorist techniques when dealing with interrogators.
"Detainee is a member of al-Qaida, with significant ties to senior level extremists, to include UBL (bin-Laden)," the assessment continues. "Detainee held a senior level position among the UK based al-Qaida cell, is a reported facilitator, recruiter and financier and is associated with al-Qaida cells inside the US. Detainee was an assessed combatant sub-commander in Tora Bora where he participated in hostilities against US and Coalition forces. Detainee has lengthy ties to militant jihad and has received basic and advanced training, to include explosives training. Detainee has shown a willingness to become a martyr for his cause."
The conclusion was that Aamer should continue to be held at Gitmo because he might have other information, including, yes, about 9/11:
The assessment on November 1, 2007, was that Aamer was still of high value. He was an enemy combatant, the document says. Except that by then, in June 2007, President Bush had already agreed that he could be released, along with other British detainees, which means that we knew anything about him being connected to everything evil was bullshit.
But we held Aamer for another 8 years after he was cleared. For part of that time, he was still interrogated and mistreated, held without charge, trial, bail, or anything more than the occasional administrative oversight. He even went on a hunger strike during that period.
He is free now. And the Rude Pundit wonders that if he had been held like that, away from his children and wife for so long, with one child born a month after his detention had started, how hard a time he would have not wanting revenge on that monsters that did that to me. Chances are, though, that Aamer, like other released detainees, will try to piece together some semblance of a life.
You gotta wonder, though: the number of terrorists we've recruited with our worthless attempts to stop terrorism must thrill ISIS.
