ARLINGTON, Va. – As controversy grows over the release of five hardened Taliban detainees in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the Obama administration is considering springing yet another prisoner from Guantanamo Bay.
Al-Awda has been held prisoner for 12 years. According to Defense Department officials and his official Guantanamo detainee profile, he traveled from his home in Kuwait to Afghanistan just before the 9/11 attacks to train in terrorist camps, and "possibly" fight alongside the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Al-Awda maintains he only went to Afghanistan for "humanitarian reasons to provide alms for the poor and to teach the Koran."
If he is released from that facility, al-Awda would still be subject to extensive security monitoring. His Internet activity would be monitored, he'd have to check in with police at least once a week and he'd be banned from traveling outside Kuwait.
Al-Awda's immediate goals were described as getting married, starting a family and working for his father, who was a colonel in the Kuwaiti Air Force and fought alongside U.S. forces during the Persian Gulf War. He now owns a plumbing supply business.
The periodic review board overseeing the case now has 30 days to make a decision. If it decides al-Awda should not be transferred, he'll appear before another review board in December.
Government considers freeing another Guantanamo inmate, on heels of Bergdahl swap | Fox News
Al-Awda has been held prisoner for 12 years. According to Defense Department officials and his official Guantanamo detainee profile, he traveled from his home in Kuwait to Afghanistan just before the 9/11 attacks to train in terrorist camps, and "possibly" fight alongside the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Al-Awda maintains he only went to Afghanistan for "humanitarian reasons to provide alms for the poor and to teach the Koran."
If he is released from that facility, al-Awda would still be subject to extensive security monitoring. His Internet activity would be monitored, he'd have to check in with police at least once a week and he'd be banned from traveling outside Kuwait.
Al-Awda's immediate goals were described as getting married, starting a family and working for his father, who was a colonel in the Kuwaiti Air Force and fought alongside U.S. forces during the Persian Gulf War. He now owns a plumbing supply business.
The periodic review board overseeing the case now has 30 days to make a decision. If it decides al-Awda should not be transferred, he'll appear before another review board in December.
Government considers freeing another Guantanamo inmate, on heels of Bergdahl swap | Fox News
