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May 20, 2009
Democrats Won't Fund Guantanamo Closing for Now
Democrats won't fund Guantanamo closing for now
Barack Obama's allies in the Senate will not provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay prison until the administration comes up with a satisfactory plan for transferring the detainees there, a top Democrat said Tuesday.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said Obama's plan to close Guantanamo is not dead—only that the funding will have to wait until the administration devises an acceptable plan to handle the closure and transfer the detainees. Obama has promised to close the military prison by January.
"The administration has not come up with a plan at this point," said Durbin, who is the whip, or No. 2 Democrat in the Senate. He added that Democrats are likely to address the issue on later legislation. "I think Guantanamo should be closed and we have to wait for the president's direction on what happens to the detainees."
With debate looming on Obama's spending request to cover military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, says Democrats will deny the Pentagon and Justice Department $80 million to relocate Guantanamo's 240 detainees.
The administration has yet to develop a plan for what to do with the detainees, and Obama's promise to close the facility is facing strong GOP opposition.
It appears to be a tactical retreat. Once the administration develops a plan to close the facility, congressional Democrats are likely to revisit the topic, provided they are satisfied there are adequate safeguards.
Explaining the reversal, Durbin said: "The feeling was at this point we were defending the unknown. We were being asked to defend a plan that hasn't been announced. And the administration said, 'Understood. Give us time to put together that plan and we'll come to you in the next appropriations bill.'"
The developments on Capitol Hill came as the Pentagon said it still expects the prison at Guantanamo Bay to be closed by January 2010 as Obama has ordered.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters on Tuesday that he sees nothing to indicate the January 2010 deadline will be delayed.
Republicans are poised with an amendment by James Inhofe of Oklahoma that would block any of the Guantanamo detainees from coming to U.S. soil to stand trial or serve their sentences. A detainee was released to France last week, leaving 240 at Guantanamo.
"Shuttering this facility now could only serve one end: and that is to make Americans less safe than Guantanamo has," said GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
House Democrats also dropped funding to close Guantanamo when producing their version of the war funding bill, which easily passed last week.
The Guantanamo controversy has roiled Washington, with most Republicans adamantly opposed to closing the prison, which mostly holds enemy combatants captured in Afghanistan. Republicans say abuses at the facility are a thing of the past.
The Senate's massive war spending measure otherwise sticks closely to Obama's request. The House version effectively exceeds Obama's request by almost $12 billion, adding $2.2 billion for foreign aid and eight C-17 cargo planes despite Defense Secretary Robert Gates' desire to cease purchases of the aircraft as part of his effort to overhaul Pentagon procurement.
Wild Thing's comment......
The Democrats are scared to death that if the U.S. is victim of another major terrorist attack after Obama disarms our security apparatus their cushy gov’t jobs will be in serious jeopardy. As well they should be along with any Republican.
Obama spoke about closing GITMO and didn't even have a plan set up ahead of his announcement. Community Orangizers did not have the how to run a country in their help manual.
Posted by Wild Thing at May 20, 2009 04:47 AM
Comments
Makes perfect sense to close Gitmo if you are an idiot. Spend money we don't have to close a state of the art detention facility from which no one has escaped and bring terrorist's here to the U. S., talk nice to them and perhaps free them to continue their havoc upon the American people. The enemy combatants housed there never had it so good.
Bob A.
Posted by: Bob A at May 20, 2009 08:33 AM
$80 million to relocate 240 bad guys. That is a third of a million each. Plus what we have already spent on setting up Gitmo. These prisoners are really expensive. Actually that is just our politicians spending freely.
We really need to quit taking prisoners and just kill these terrorists in the field.
Posted by: TomR at May 20, 2009 11:06 AM
That's rich!!! The champions against unfunded mandates have an unfunded mandate of their own making. When on the horns of a dilemma all we hear is the thundering of their ugs!!!
Re-elect NONE - Take No Prisoners!!!
Posted by: Jack at May 20, 2009 04:40 PM
Hey, how bout this, why don't we give these Prisoners to the Israeli's. At least they know what to do with them. It they try to escape they will shoot them. If not they will lock them up forever.
Then again they are Obamas brothers so I guess that is out.
Posted by: Mark at May 20, 2009 06:29 PM
Bob A., good one.
"Makes perfect sense to close Gitmo if you are an idiot"
You right too, they have been treated
so well many don't even want to leave
and go back to their caves.
Posted by: Wild Thing at May 20, 2009 11:30 PM
Tom, I agree so much!
"We really need to quit taking prisoners and just kill these terrorists in the field."
Posted by: Wild Thing at May 20, 2009 11:32 PM
Jack,LOL good one.
"When on the horns of a dilemma all we hear is the thundering of their ugs!!!"
Posted by: Wild Thing at May 20, 2009 11:35 PM
Mark, that would be a good idea, if they
do close GITMO. I like the part where if
they try to escape the Israeli's will
shoot them. Oh yessssss
Posted by: Wild Thing at May 20, 2009 11:39 PM
