• Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Europe logoCarnegie lettermark logo
EUUkraine
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Christopher Boucek"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Saudi Arabia",
    "Yemen"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Security",
    "Military",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

Debate Rages Over Those Still At Guantanamo

If President-elect Obama closes Guantanamo, as he pledged to on the campaign trail, the administration will have to figure out what to do with the remaining detainees. One option is a rehabilitation program modeled on a successful Saudi initiative that includes intensive counseling sessions, help finding employment, and, crucially, religious dialogue with imams.

Link Copied
By Christopher Boucek
Published on Nov 20, 2008

Source: NPR

If President-elect Obama closes Guantanamo, as he pledged to on the campaign trail, the administration will have to figure out what to do with the remaining detainees. Forty percent of Guantanamo prisoners are Yemeni, and diplomatic discussions between the United States and Yemen about what to do with detainees who do not pose a risk failed to produce an agreement. Christopher Boucek spoke with NPR’s Jackie Northam about the merits of a rehabilitation program modeled on a successful Saudi initiative.

Nearly 3,000 people have gone through Saudi Arabia’s four-year rehabilitation program, including former Guantanamo detainees. The program includes intensive counseling sessions, help finding employment, and, crucially, religious dialogue with imams who engage former militants in discussions of sharia and the Quran. Only two percent of program graduates relapse, but Boucek noted that the low re-arrest rate reflects the fact that the program focuses on low to mid-level operatives, not senior militants.
 

Click here to listen to the full broadcast.

About the Author

Christopher Boucek

Former Associate, Middle East Program

Boucek was an associate in the Carnegie Middle East Program where his research focused on security challenges in the Arabian Peninsula and Northern Africa.

    Recent Work

  • Q&A
    Yemen After Saleh’s Return and Awlaki’s Exit

      Christopher Boucek

  • Q&A
    Rivals—Iran vs. Saudi Arabia

      Christopher Boucek, Karim Sadjadpour

Christopher Boucek
Former Associate, Middle East Program
Christopher Boucek
Political ReformSecurityMilitaryForeign PolicySaudi ArabiaYemen

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

  • Ukraine Poland Zelensky Tusk Enlargement EU
    Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    The Uncomfortable Truth About EU Enlargement

    Before the next wave of EU enlargement takes place, the union needs to grapple with thorny questions of how power is distributed among its members.

      • Ditte Brasso Sørensen

      Emil Sondaj Hansen, Ditte Brasso Sørensen

  • Greenland United States Denmark Agreement Nuuk
    Commentary
    The Denmark-Greenland-U.S. Agreement Needs to Stand the Test of Time

    The new U.S.–Denmark–Greenland agreement will help Washington exert political, economic, and financial dominance under the guise of security. Yet, it acknowledged Copenhagen’s and Nuuk’s sovereignty on the island.

      Marc Pierini

  • Ukraine Russia Black Sea Food
    Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    A Black Sea Truce Is About Global Food Security, Too

    A summer of escalation in the Black Sea has hurt Ukraine economically and is exacerbating world food security. A truce is needed—as is a broader reframing of Europe’s Ukraine strategy.

      Thomas de Waal

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Does the EU Have a Germany Problem?

    Are Germany’s economic, industrial, and political struggles becoming a liability for the EU’s ability to rise to the geopolitical moment?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    The Speech Ursula von der Leyen Can’t Deliver

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is about to give her annual address on the state of the EU. Here’s what she won’t—but should—say.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
Carnegie Europe logo, white
Rue du Congrès, 151000 Brussels, Belgium
  • Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Gender Equality Plan
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.