Sen. John McCain says reports of 20-30 former Guantanamo detainees
joining the Islamic State (ISIS) and other terrorist groups are nothing new.
In fact, he said Thursday on Fox News Channel's
"On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," the five Taliban leaders exchanged for American Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl earlier this year definitely re-entered the fight, noting that they had been "judged too dangerous to release."
And those returning to battle are given leadership positions because it's a "red badge of courage" to have been in the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he said.
President Barack Obama has been moving to close the facility ever since he made a campaign promise to do so in his 2008 race. McCain, an Arizona Republican, said many in Congress would agree with closing the prison if Obama had a plan for dealing with the prisoners other than setting them free.
"The eagerness with which this administration wants to get these people out of Guantanamo has clearly overridden good sense and a real concern for the lives of American men and women who are serving," he said.
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