On January 22nd, President Obama vowed to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba by January 2010. The Washington Post reports today that the Administration is now considering moving prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to a maximum-security facility in the United States that would be jointly run by the departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security.
But the House and Senate have refused to fund President Obama’s Guantanamo closer until he identifies a detailed plan for how to do it. Today’s report is not that plan. Instead, Obama’s Detainee Task Force has been telling the administration they need another six months, at least, to formulate their recommendations. In addition, polls show that Americans oppose the closure of Gitmo by more than 2-1, and by more than 3-1 they oppose moving some of the prisoners housed there to their home states.
President Obama needs to take his time. He must allow the Detainee Task Force to study the issue in-depth. He should listen to the professionals and craft a comprehensive legal framework to put the detention issue on surer footing. When all of that is said and done, the last step is to get Congressional authorization. Then, and only then, will the closure of Guantanamo Bay move forward.
I don't understand why Obama wants to close Guantanamo Bay.
Maybe you could explain it to me.
Thanks
When is Obama going to learn that it is his responsibilty to keep the US safe.
The LAST intention of Obama is to keep America "safe." Every single issue Obama supports is to create the maximum chaos for America and Americans as soon and as fast as possible. Intentionally!
Sinners are always in a rush. They want to get out of town before they get found out!
Hozro
He wants to claim the moral highground. This is a guy who never served a day in the military, defending the U.S. He wants to read prisoners of war their Miranda rights on the battle field, supply them taxpayer provided legal counsel and their day in court. How do you interogate a prisoner of war while telling him he has the right to keep silent and that he has a right to a court appointed attorney? He wants to give these enemy combatants the full protection of the U.S. Constitution they are fighting to destroy.
There are ways to end the need for places like Guantanamo in the future. 1) Anytime America is threatened in the future by terrorists or other countries we should immediately surrender to whoever threatens us and beg for mercy, or 2)in the event of armed conflict, take no prisoners.
Kill them right there on the battlefield. No prisoners, no need for interogations, no need for Guantanamo.
Apparently shooting our enemies on the battlefield is vastly preferable to interogating them and detaining them without trial. At least we wouldn't have to fall all over ourselves, wringing our hands in guilt over the plight of detained enemy combatants.
Obama is like a first grade kid with wihes and dreams. But he is really a post turtle. When you see a turtle on a post, you know that he doesn't belong there, couldn't have gotten there himself and that someone put him there.
The Rohm Emanuel mantra of never passing up a good crisis has become the mantra of this administration. Obama is not really a leader. He is a figure head for radical Czars of the most bizzare backgrounds who will attempt to confiscate our Constitution and ultimately . . . . . Fail.
They will fail, to paraphrase Stuart Smalley, because we are smart enough, and tough enough, and by golly we are the people!
Anybody remember Jimmy Carter ?? This new president is like Carter on Steroids!!! Instead of taking in Cuba's Prisoners ,
President B.O. wants to bring terrorist from Cuba to The USA.
History will show this to be just as dumb!
KEEP GITMO OPEN!!
I fail to see why our President has determined to close this top notch military operation.
Aside from one unfortunate incident, which apparently has been corrected – the facility functions as the ideal setup for housing detainees.
It makes no sense to close Gitmo!!
(I've also been there – it's very impressive.)