U.S. Airline Attack: Did Saudi Terror Rehab Program Fail? (News NOW on PBS)

U.S. Airline Attack: Did Saudi Terror Rehab Program Fail?

According to ABC News, two of the masterminds behind the attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to bring down Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas day were former Guantanamo Bay detainees freed in 2007 who then attended a terror rehabilitation program in Saudi Arabia.

After being released from the program, the former prisoners are believed to have moved to Yemen where they joined al Qaeda as military commanders.

"The so-called rehabilitation programs are a joke," a U.S. diplomat said in describing the Saudi efforts with released Guantanamo detainees.

The controversial Saudi program attempts to rehabilitate terrorists and integrate them back into everyday life through a combination of religious, psychological and social programs. NOW on PBS traveled to Saudi Arabia earlier this year for an inside, in-depth look at the controversial initiative.

In the show, we see inmates from Guantanamo Bay being brought to Saudi Arabia, given a hero's welcome, then sent to a converted holiday resort for re-education. After that, many are enticed to reform with the offer of a car, a job, and even a wife.

Watch the program and read author and correspondent Robert Lacey's essay, "Rehab the Terrorists...With Love"

Posted by Joel Schwartzberg on December 29, 2009 10:44 AM

Tags: Afghanistan, al Qaeda, flight, Northwest Flight 253, Pakistan, saudi arabia, Somalia, terrorism, terrorist, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, yemen, Yemen

Comments (1)

I can't watch the current Now programs on my tv.

I checked your web site for a video on the internet and it does not seem to be current.

Anthony Joseph Lucchese

Posted by anthony joseph lucchese | December 29, 2009 11:22 AM

U.S. Airline Attack: Did Saudi Terror Rehab Program Fail?

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