"We have been discussing what they would do in Saudi and the security
measures that would prevent them from escaping," an official said.
On May 6, Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed the proposed release
of the Yemenis during his visit to Saudi Arabia. Gates said the United
States was close to a formal agreement with both Riyad and Sanaa. But other
officials said Yemen has not accepted the proposal.
"I didn't ask them [Saudis] to do anything, and they didn't volunteer,"
Gates said.
Under the proposal, the Yemeni detainees would be sent from Guantanamo
to at least two Saudi centers used for the rehabilitation of Al Qaida
members in the kingdom. The facilities were identified as the Prince
Mohammed Bin Nayef Center and Al Munasaha.
In the Saudi facilities, the officials said, the Yemenis would attend
lectures on Islam and hear testimony of Al Qaida's exploitation of Muslims.
They said most of the Al Qaida members sent to these facilities ended their
term by disavowing any loyalty to the Islamic insurgency movement.
President Barack Obama has ordered all of the Islamic detainees at
Guantanamo to be released over the next year. Yemeni nationals comprise the
largest nationality of the 241 Al Qaida inmates at the facility.
