A new report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence shows inmates released from the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are still returning to the battlefield and fighting against the United States and other Western nations. Since releases began under President George W. Bush, 116 men held in the facility famous for interrogations and orange jumpsuits have been 'confirmed of reengaging' in hostilities, according to ODNI. Of those, 23 are back in custody and 25 are dead – including some killed by American drone strikes and other military operations. But 68 are at large, including 5 released by President Barack Obama since his 2008 campaign pledge to close 'Gitmo' forever. Another 69 are 'suspected of reengageing,' and 55 of them are on the loose. James Clapper, the US Director of National Intelligence, testified in a Feb. 26 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that 2014 will go down as the deadliest year for terrorism since records were first kept . Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is a political flashpoint with Republicans wanting to keep terrorists outof harm's way and Democrats believing the facility's continued operation inflames hostilities against America . Obama's batting average looks far better than Bush's on paper. More than 20 per cent of the Guantanamo detainees released by order of the former president are once again considered enemy combatants in the war on terror. Among Obama's releases, that number barely hits 5 per cent. But a retired U.S. military intelligence officer told Daily Mail Online that the numbers are misleading. 'No one gets out of Guantanamo, goes right back to the front lines, and winds up in a CIA report in the same week,' he said Thursday. 'It can take months or years for them to feel confident enough to start waging jihad again, out in the open, with the U.S. and their host government keeping tabs on them.' 'And ODNI can only put in a public report what it can confirm. That sometimes takes even more years. So it's deceptive.' The source spoke on condition of anonymity. 'Are there more Bush transfers back at it than Obama transfers? Probably not,' he said. 'But the intelligence community has had more than six years to track Bush's. So they know more. Six years from now Obama's numbers will look pretty much the same.' 'These guys don't rejoin al-Qaeda overnight.' 203 Afghanistan . 123 Saudi Arabia . 63 Pakistan . 22 Yemen . 17 Algeria . 14 Great Britain . 12 Morocco . 12 Sudan . 11 Kuwait . 11 Tajikistan . 11 Albania . 9 France . 9 Kazakhstan . 9 Slovakia . 8 Russia . 7 Iraq . 6 Palau . 6 Georgia . 6 Qatar . 6 Uruguay . 5 Jordan . 5 Bahrain . 5 Spain . 4 Oman . 4 Bosnia and Herzegovina . – Source: New York Times / NPR . Speaking to the fact-checking website Politifact in January, a spokesman for Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain echoed that sentiment. 'It can take some time for us to identify (former detainees) on the field of battle,' said the spokesman, Brian Rogers, 'and it would make sense that some recent releases may not yet have been identified or engaged.' Director of National Intelligence James Clapper concludes his report by predicting that the problem of Guantanamo recidivism isn't going away. 'Based on trends identified during the past eleven years, we assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred,' his report reads. Spokespersons for the National Security Council in the White House directed questions back to ODNI. The White House typically negotiates terms of release with foreign governments that will accept prisoners, often their home countries. To date at least 55 nations have taken them in, with the U.S. enforcing varying conditions on their release. Afghanistan leads the list, folllowed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Yemen. Thosase four countries alone are now home to more than 400 former Guantanamo prisoners. Yemen has destabilized in recent weeks with the ouster of its U.S.-backed government, raising concerns about the status of the 22 men repatriated there. Obama sent six of them in 2009, according to data compiled by The New York Times and NPR. But even in a more stable country like France, the destination for nine former Guanatanamo inmates – and even when the U.S. places residency and other restrictions on prisoner releases – Clapper admits some will pick up where they once left off. 'While enforcement of transfer conditions may deter reengagement by many former detainees and delay reengagement by others,' his report reads, 'some detainees who are determined to reengage will do so regardless of any transfer conditions.' The Obama administration has clear guidelines about what qualifies as terrorist recidivism. 'Planning terrorist operations, conducting a terrorist or insurgent attack against Coalition or host-nation forces or civilians, conducting a suicide bombing, financing terrorist operations, recruiting others for terrorist operations, and arranging for movement of individuals involved in terrorist operations' are all activities that qualify. Communicating with other former Guanatanamo prisoners or propagandizing against the U.S., by themselves, don't count. LOCKUP, EXTENDED STAY: President Barack Obama pledged to close the prison by early 2010 but has struggled to transfer, try or release the remaining detainees from the facility . New concerns about stocking Islamist terror armies with new recruits via Guantanamo releases come as terrorism incidences and casualties are on the rise. 'In 2013, just over 11,500 terrorist attacks world-wide killed approximately 22,000 people,' Clapper told a Senate panel on Feb. 26. 'Preliminary data for the first nine months of 2014 reflect nearly 13,000 attacks, which killed 31,000 people.' 'When the final accounting is done, 2014 will have been the most lethal year for global terrorism in the 45 years such data has been compiled,' he said. The sprawling Guantanamo Bay prison complex on the island of Cuba is still home to 122 detainees, a number that the White House wants to see dip below 100 in order to make the facility's eventual closure seem inevitable. Fully 55 of them have already been cleared to go. The U.S. secretary of defense, by statute, makes the final determination about which Guantanamo prisoners must stay and which can be resettled in less restrictive settings. Former Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel's departure was reportedly brought about, in part, because of his reluctance to agree with all the White House's recommendations. New Defense Secretary Ash Carter has not yet demonstrated his thinking with a raft of new release announcements. TIME OUT: Republicans want to pass a 2-year moratorium on new Guantanamo Bay prisoner releases but the . Last month a quartet of Republican senators led by Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire introduced a bill that would make it harder to send anyone home from Guantanamo. It has already been approved by the Armed Services Committe. The legislation would temporarily prohibit the White House from releasing any of the remaining inmates if they were determined to be 'high' or 'medium' risk hen they were first captured, regardless of the current assessment of military brass. The congressional time-out would last for two years, essentially tying Obama's hands unti lthe end of his term in office. The White House looks dimly on the idea. Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz told reporters on Feb. 12 aboard Air Force One that 'our position is that the continued operation of Guantanamo Bay, the facility there, weakens our national security, and (it) must be closed.' 'We believe this bill puts more constraints on a process that should be actually working faster. And so we oppose this legislation, and the President would veto it.' Guantanamo ODNI Report March 2015 uploaded by DailyMail.com .
New figures from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence show 116 former Gitmo detainees have returned to terrorism .
President Obama vowed as soon as he was inaugurated in 2009 that he would close the military detention center .
'Deceptive' numbers make it seem like Obama's releases have been better-behaved than Bush's .
'These guys don't rejoin al-Qaeda overnight,' warns a military intelligence expert .
A new report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence shows inmates released from the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are still returning to the battlefield and fighting against the United States and other Western nations. Since releases began under President George W. Bush, 116 men held in the facility famous for interrogations and orange jumpsuits have been 'confirmed of reengaging' in hostilities, according to ODNI. Of those, 23 are back in custody and 25 are dead – including some killed by American drone strikes and other military operations. But 68 are at large, including 5 released by President Barack Obama since his 2008 campaign pledge to close 'Gitmo' forever. Another 69 are 'suspected of reengageing,' and 55 of them are on the loose. James Clapper, the US Director of National Intelligence, testified in a Feb. 26 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that 2014 will go down as the deadliest year for terrorism since records were first kept . Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is a political flashpoint with Republicans wanting to keep terrorists outof harm's way and Democrats believing the facility's continued operation inflames hostilities against America . Obama's batting average looks far better than Bush's on paper. More than 20 per cent of the Guantanamo detainees released by order of the former president are once again considered enemy combatants in the war on terror. Among Obama's releases, that number barely hits 5 per cent. But a retired U.S. military intelligence officer told Daily Mail Online that the numbers are misleading. 'No one gets out of Guantanamo, goes right back to the front lines, and winds up in a CIA report in the same week,' he said Thursday. 'It can take months or years for them to feel confident enough to start waging jihad again, out in the open, with the U.S. and their host government keeping tabs on them.' 'And ODNI can only put in a public report what it can confirm. That sometimes takes even more years. So it's deceptive.' The source spoke on condition of anonymity. 'Are there more Bush transfers back at it than Obama transfers? Probably not,' he said. 'But the intelligence community has had more than six years to track Bush's. So they know more. Six years from now Obama's numbers will look pretty much the same.' 'These guys don't rejoin al-Qaeda overnight.' 203 Afghanistan . 123 Saudi Arabia . 63 Pakistan . 22 Yemen . 17 Algeria . 14 Great Britain . 12 Morocco . 12 Sudan . 11 Kuwait . 11 Tajikistan . 11 Albania . 9 France . 9 Kazakhstan . 9 Slovakia . 8 Russia . 7 Iraq . 6 Palau . 6 Georgia . 6 Qatar . 6 Uruguay . 5 Jordan . 5 Bahrain . 5 Spain . 4 Oman . 4 Bosnia and Herzegovina . – Source: New York Times / NPR . Speaking to the fact-checking website Politifact in January, a spokesman for Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain echoed that sentiment. 'It can take some time for us to identify (former detainees) on the field of battle,' said the spokesman, Brian Rogers, 'and it would make sense that some recent releases may not yet have been identified or engaged.' Director of National Intelligence James Clapper concludes his report by predicting that the problem of Guantanamo recidivism isn't going away. 'Based on trends identified during the past eleven years, we assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred,' his report reads. Spokespersons for the National Security Council in the White House directed questions back to ODNI. The White House typically negotiates terms of release with foreign governments that will accept prisoners, often their home countries. To date at least 55 nations have taken them in, with the U.S. enforcing varying conditions on their release. Afghanistan leads the list, folllowed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Yemen. Thosase four countries alone are now home to more than 400 former Guantanamo prisoners. Yemen has destabilized in recent weeks with the ouster of its U.S.-backed government, raising concerns about the status of the 22 men repatriated there. Obama sent six of them in 2009, according to data compiled by The New York Times and NPR. But even in a more stable country like France, the destination for nine former Guanatanamo inmates – and even when the U.S. places residency and other restrictions on prisoner releases – Clapper admits some will pick up where they once left off. 'While enforcement of transfer conditions may deter reengagement by many former detainees and delay reengagement by others,' his report reads, 'some detainees who are determined to reengage will do so regardless of any transfer conditions.' The Obama administration has clear guidelines about what qualifies as terrorist recidivism. 'Planning terrorist operations, conducting a terrorist or insurgent attack against Coalition or host-nation forces or civilians, conducting a suicide bombing, financing terrorist operations, recruiting others for terrorist operations, and arranging for movement of individuals involved in terrorist operations' are all activities that qualify. Communicating with other former Guanatanamo prisoners or propagandizing against the U.S., by themselves, don't count. LOCKUP, EXTENDED STAY: President Barack Obama pledged to close the prison by early 2010 but has struggled to transfer, try or release the remaining detainees from the facility . New concerns about stocking Islamist terror armies with new recruits via Guantanamo releases come as terrorism incidences and casualties are on the rise. 'In 2013, just over 11,500 terrorist attacks world-wide killed approximately 22,000 people,' Clapper told a Senate panel on Feb. 26. 'Preliminary data for the first nine months of 2014 reflect nearly 13,000 attacks, which killed 31,000 people.' 'When the final accounting is done, 2014 will have been the most lethal year for global terrorism in the 45 years such data has been compiled,' he said. The sprawling Guantanamo Bay prison complex on the island of Cuba is still home to 122 detainees, a number that the White House wants to see dip below 100 in order to make the facility's eventual closure seem inevitable. Fully 55 of them have already been cleared to go. The U.S. secretary of defense, by statute, makes the final determination about which Guantanamo prisoners must stay and which can be resettled in less restrictive settings. Former Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel's departure was reportedly brought about, in part, because of his reluctance to agree with all the White House's recommendations. New Defense Secretary Ash Carter has not yet demonstrated his thinking with a raft of new release announcements. TIME OUT: Republicans want to pass a 2-year moratorium on new Guantanamo Bay prisoner releases but the . Last month a quartet of Republican senators led by Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire introduced a bill that would make it harder to send anyone home from Guantanamo. It has already been approved by the Armed Services Committe. The legislation would temporarily prohibit the White House from releasing any of the remaining inmates if they were determined to be 'high' or 'medium' risk hen they were first captured, regardless of the current assessment of military brass. The congressional time-out would last for two years, essentially tying Obama's hands unti lthe end of his term in office. The White House looks dimly on the idea. Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz told reporters on Feb. 12 aboard Air Force One that 'our position is that the continued operation of Guantanamo Bay, the facility there, weakens our national security, and (it) must be closed.' 'We believe this bill puts more constraints on a process that should be actually working faster. And so we oppose this legislation, and the President would veto it.' Guantanamo ODNI Report March 2015 uploaded by DailyMail.com .
A new report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence shows inmates released from the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo jumpsuits have been 'confirmed of reengaging' in a retired U.S. military intelligence officer told much the same.' 'These guys don't rejoin al-Qaeda EXTENDED STAY: President Barack Obama pledged to detainees from the facility . New concerns about via Guantanamo releases come as terrorism Hampshire introduced a bill that would make it