There’s a showdown happening in Washington and it could get very ugly soon. Will President Barack Obama’s first-term promise to close down Guantánamo Bay and bring Gitmo detainees to the U.S become a reality or will the Republicans with the support of some Democrats block the Obama administration again?
In a nation already divided, the divide is about to become even sharper. Who will win this battle that effects national security and potentially the safety of Americans at home?
Late last night the Senate passed a measure introduced by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) preventing terrorist detainees from being transferred from the U.S. prison in Guantánamo to U.S. soil.
However, earlier yesterday the White House started circulating a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) warning that President Obama would veto the renewal of the pending 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) if Guantánamo transfer and funding restrictions were not removed. The SAP also warned the Senate not to add any new detention provisions. Right, like he would willingly give up that section of NDAA that allows him to arrest anyone he considers to be a terrorist and detain them indefinitely without due process!
“Detainee Matters: The Administration strongly objects to section 1031′s restrictions on the use of funds to transfer detainees from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries. When he signed past versions of this legislation, the President objected to the restrictions carried forward by section 1031, promised to work towards their repeal, and warned the Congress that the restrictions on transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries would in certain circumstances interfere with constitutional responsibilities committed to the Executive Branch. Since these restrictions have been on the books, they have limited the Executive’s ability to manage military operations in an ongoing armed conflict, harmed the country’s diplomatic relations with allies and counterterrorism partners, and provided no benefit whatsoever to our national security. . . The Administration also continues to oppose the prohibition on funding to construct, acquire or modify a detention facility in the United States to house any individual detained at Guantanamo, which shortsightedly constrains the options available to military and counterterrorism professionals to address evolving threats. . .”
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement:
“A majority of the American people and a bipartisan majority in Congress oppose bringing the terrorists imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay into the United States, yet the White House continues to take steps to move forward with its dangerous plan. The unilateral decision to purchase the Thomson Prison – even though Congress has repeatedly opposed the Obama administration’s effort to use taxpayer funds to do so – underscores the administration’s desire to move forward and bring these detainees to U.S. soil. House Republicans have kept our Pledge to America to keep the terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay out the United States, and we will continue to keep our pledge. President Obama owes the American people an explanation about how importing these dangerous terrorists and giving them the same rights as U.S. citizens will make us any safer. Republicans will continue to oppose this dangerous plan.”
Both the 2012 and 2013 NDAA prohibits the transfer of terrorists from GITMO to U.S. soil. But, if you thought President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder had given up on closing Guantanamo Bay and bringing jihadists to American soil, think again. On Oct. 2, Obama’s cash-strapped Illinois pals announced that the federal government bought out the Thomson Correctional Center in western Illinois for $165 million. According to Watchdog.Org, a recent appraisal put the value of the facility at $220 million.
Democratic Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin who led the lobbying campaign for the purchase of Thomson Correctional Center told a local Illinois paper that “the decision to move ahead came directly from President Barack Obama” and that he had secured the green light during a discussion on Air Force One earlier in the spring.
Moving GITMO terrorists to American soil would extend to these terrorists the same rights and privileges as American citizens. It is time to send Washington a clear message that taxpayers doesn’t want manipulative Gitmo detainees or their three-ring circuses of transnationalist sympathizers and left-wing lawyers on American soil. Period.
Please take a moment to call your Members of Congress (House and Senate) TODAY. Politely, but firmly, let them know that you are VERY MUCH opposed to the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to any facilities on U.S. soil.
