Few can say they’ve had the chance to view the al-Qaeda terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center in Cuba.

I got the interesting opportunity by attending what is called a Periodic Review Board for three different al-Qaeda terrorists being held in Cuba.

The three are among 116 detainees from 17 countries, currently held at Guantanamo Bay.

Since January 2002, there have been 780 detainees at the facility. Approximately 52 of the 116 still in Cuba have been approved for transfer.

The remaining detainees have their cases reviewed by an inter-agency panel called the Periodic Review Board.

A Periodic Review Board is an inter-agency panel with high-ranking government officials who review whether detainees at the Guantanamo Bay should be detained, transferred or released.

Since its establishment, the Periodic Review Secretariat has developed procedures to permit representatives from media outlets, and non-governmental organizations, to observe portions of Periodic Review Board proceedings via a closed circuit television screening in Arlington, Virginia.

The Periodic Review Board process is the latest of a series of informal and formal review processes utilized over the last 14 years for Guantanamo detainees since they were first captured in 2001 and beyond.

When I attended the Periodic Review Board viewing, a moderator read from an unclassified “Executive Summary,” which explained the reasons for their continued military detention.

Periodic Review Boards comprise personnel from:

  • Department of Defense
  • Justice Department
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • Department of State
  • Office of the Director of National Intelligence
  • Joint Chiefs of Staff

According to what I learned at the Periodic Review Board, the three detainees had similar stories.

The first, Salman Yahya Hassan Mohammad Rabei’i, is a 36-year-old Yemeni citizen with connections to al-Qaeda. Having undergone extremist training, potentially at Osama bin Laden’s Tora Bora Mountain Complex, it is likely that he engaged in combat against U.S. and coalition forces.

Furthermore, he has been non-compliant in interrogations during his detention, and it is probable that he retains anti-American sentiment.

To add to the long list of reasons Rabei’i is at Guantanamo Bay, he maintains contact with his family, whom we know to have connections to radical terror groups.

Rabei’i’s attorney insists that he wants to forget about the past and look toward the future.

David Remes, his private counsel, explained that Rabei’i hopes to find a wife, get a job and return to his family.

Although this is similar to many around the world his age, there is one major difference: Rabei’i is a known terrorist.

Nevertheless, surrounded by government-provided personal representatives, private counsel and two linguists, Rabei’i demanded immediate transfer without conditions.

The unclassified portion of the Periodic Review Board lasted 20 minutes, which included the time needed for the linguist to translate the English-only proceedings into the detainee’s native language.

Those observing were not privy to the classified portion of the hearing.

Additionally, the decisions of the Periodic Review Board are released up to 30 days after the hearings.

The Periodic Review Board proceeded similarly for Al-Kandari and Al-Shamrani to how it did for Rabei’i.

Al-Kandari is Guantanamo’s last Kuwaiti detainee and is being detained due to his roles as an al-Qaeda recruiter and potential spiritual adviser to Osama bin Laden.

Additionally, al-Kandari’s family is known to have ties to al-Qaeda members in Kuwait and Syria, some of whom have been a part of attacks on U.S. targets in Kuwait.

Like his fellow detainees, Al-Shamrani has a troublesome extremist past.

While his pro bono private counsel Martha Rayner, a professor at Fordham University Law School, describes the detainee as “true to himself” and “committed to moving on,” the unclassified Executive Summary indicates otherwise.

Al-Shamrani was an al-Qaeda recruiter and fighter.

Furthermore, this detainee has indicated he plans to re-engage since February of 2014, has been uncooperative throughout his lawful detention and has taken interest in the recent rise of the Islamic State.

It is concerning that these three terrorists are potentially going to be released. Aside from their extremist past and the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, there are genuine concerns about the detainees’ family ties and vitriolic anti-American sentiment.

More importantly, according to the latest report issued by the director of national intelligence, 28.5 percent of released detainees are either confirmed or suspected of re-engaging in terror activities.

There is a greater than 1 in 4 chance that one of these detainees returns to combatant activity upon release.

This should cause concern for all Americans.

Our president has repeatedly called for the close of Guantanamo Bay, but what risks are we willing to take to meet this improbable fantasy?

Closing Gitmo and releasing Rabei’i, and the other detainees at Guantanamo Bay, is a threat to American lives at home and abroad.