U.S. officials: Middle East upheaval has helped jihadis to escape

The flow of information from Libya, Yemen and other governments in the region about the whereabouts and activities of the former Guantanamo detainees, along with other Islamists released from local prisons, has slowed or even stopped, the officials say. U.S. officials say they fear that former detainees will re-join al Qaeda and other Islamist groups.

“Could they go back to the central al Qaeda cadre in Pakistan and add to the global jihad?” asked a senior U.S. intelligence official. “Yes, they could do that. Or they could stay where they are and work on behalf of al Qaeda to penetrate the opposition. Or they could join the opposition. None of those outcomes is particularly encouraging.”…

Now popular movements sweeping the region have knocked some counterterrorism allies from power, and left others too distracted or politically vulnerable to risk open cooperation with the U.S. Intelligence-sharing has already slowed in some areas as the U.S. struggles to identify reliable counterparts in reshuffled governments.

“It’s difficult to share information when you don’t know who the players are,” said another U.S. official.