The Value of Guantanamo’s Intelligence

Detailed information on transnational funding operations in support of al-Qaida, Taliban, and HIG, as well as information on individuals suspected of money laundering for terrorist organizations.

Information on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) providing financial and material support to terrorist organizations.

A fourth slide (p. 22), “Actionable Results,” reads:

By connecting the dots, information obtained through analysis at Guantanamo is helping in the war on terrorism.

The slide cites five examples of ways American counterterrorism efforts have benefited from Guantanamo. For instance, “US and Coalition forces have…[d]eveloped countermeasures to disrupt terrorist travel routes into the United States.”

The slides contained in the draft presentation obtained by Judicial Watch help tell part of the Guantanamo story that is rarely told, let alone appreciated. The intelligence derived from Guantanamo detainees, almost all of whom were subjected to non-coercive interrogation methods, has been invaluable to America’s counterterrorism efforts. The intelligence covered everything from individuals tied to al Qaeda's WMD programs to "actionable" intelligence concerning how al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their allies fight American-led forces in Afghanistan.

It is a story the Bush administration did a poor job in explaining. And it is a story that the Obama administration has no interest in telling since it just wants Guantanamo closed.

Thomas Joscelyn is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.