US officials from the Departments of Defense and Justice have commended the Saudi program for the rehabilitation of terror suspects. They consider it to be one of the best rehabilitation programs in the world and encourage other countries to benefit from the program's applications. The officials included Attorney General at US Department of Defense J. Johnson, Assistant US Secretary of Justice for National Security Affairs David Chris and General Judge at US Navy Admiral Bruce MacDonald. These officials were commenting on the observations of Senator Kay Hagan, a member of the Senate's Armed Services Committee, during a discussion on legal matters concerning military committees for trying Guantanamo Bay detainees and legal proceedings for trying detainees on charges of violating the laws of war. Senator Hagan called on the Departments of Justice and Defense to work with countries in the Middle East which have a proven record of successful programs for the rehabilitation of prisoners, such as Saudi Arabia, to accept the transfer of some detainees to their rehabilitation programs, noting that according to the Office of US Secretary of Defense, Saudi Arabia remains one of the most reliable countries as a partner in counter-terrorism operations. Senator Hagan pointed out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has an effective institutional program of rehabilitation which was developed by the Ministry of Interior for rehabilitating former detainees and preparing them for reentering the mainstream of society. Attorney General J. Johnson said that the United States should encourage rehabilitation programs such as the one applied by Saudi Arabia. Assistant Secretary of Justice for National Security Affairs David Chris described the Saudi rehabilitation program as “excellent.”
