Guantanamo prisoners to receive Social Security benefits
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – After nearly 20 years in the custody of U.S. Forces, Taliban leader Ahmed Yusef Umar is looking forward to the next chapter in his life of Jihad: retirement.
Umar will begin receiving retirement benefits, including Medicare and Social Security, as early as 2020. Classified an enemy combatant, Umar has been in American custody since U.S. Special Forces captured him during the Battle of Tora Bora in 2001.
“I’m so close now,” said Umar. “I’ve almost got my 20 and then that’s it for me. I’m headed to the detention facility at Camp Living Room.”
Based on a legal loophole discovered by Umar’s lawyer, Umar’s time in Guantanamo Bay, or GTMO, is considered time residing in the United States or as performing military service. As such, Umar is entitled to begin receiving retirement benefits after 20 years of service.
“I had recommended just repatriating him to Afghanistan before he makes it,” said Lt. Col. Maxwell Hillsborough, a member of the JAG Corps supporting the detentio…
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