Gitmo detainees here? Not on your life.
An overwhelming bipartisan majority in the U.S. Senate did something Wednesday that would elicit overwhelming bipartisan support in communities across America. They voted 90-6 to prevent the transfer of terrorists and those who aided them, now in confinement at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the U.S. mainland. And, further, they denied the Obama Administration $80 million the President sought to close the Guantanamo holding facility by January.
The vote came as FBI Director Robert Mueller warned that bringing the bad guys here presented risks that ranged from “concerns about providing financing, radicalizing others” to increasing “the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the United States.” And, of course, somewhere there breathes a federal judge who will seek to begin the process to release them, even here if no other nation will take them.
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), responding to public concerns, has introduced legislation called “Protecting America’s Communities Act” to prohibit the transfer. Said Chambliss:
“People across America are very concerned that this administration has not developed a plan for what to do with these hard-core terrorists once the detention center at Guantanamo is shuttered. Americans are concerned that they will be released into the United States. It is important to remember most detainees held at Guantanamo were captured on the battlefields in Afghanistan or Iraq and were determined to be a threat to our nation’s security. Whatever their ties to terrorists groups or activities, these individuals should never be given the privilege of crossing our borders, even if incarcerated. To do so would be nothing short of an invitation for al-Qaida to operate inside our homeland.”
Under Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 of the Constitution, Congress has the absolute power to exclude aliens for security reasons that include terrorist activities, he said. He;d add to the no-entry list “an alien who, as of January 1, 2009, was being detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.”
Other provisions would seek to ensure that if the President does find a way to transfer them here, they won’t be released until another country is willing to take them. The legislation also acknowledges that armed conflict exists with al-Qaida, the Taliban and related forces and reaffirms the President’s authority to detain enemy fighters regardless of where they’re captured.
During the political campaign, President Obama mocked the Bush Administration for its handling of Guantanamo and those held there. Six months into reality, the realization is beginning to settle in over those who now exercise power that campaign sound bites that comforted the left make for lousy national security policy.
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© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
128 comments Add your comment
DB, Gwinnettian
May 21st, 2009
8:23 am
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), responding to public concerns, has introduced legislation called “Protecting America’s Communities Act” to prohibit the transfer. Said Chambliss: “We’re going to get our butts handed to us in 2010 if we don’t find some kind of terra-fear issue to latch onto and by God, this one might just have legs for us if we hype it jes’ rat!”
Fixed your typo.
Get Real
May 21st, 2009
8:28 am
You wrote so quickly you forgot to double space Wooten.
“It is important to remember most detainees held at Guantanamo were captured on the battlefields in Afghanistan or Iraq and were determined to be a threat to our nation’s security.” The key word here being MOST. So what about the ones that were just picked up and determined not to be a threat? And if you hadn’t noticed, we had a homegrown terror cell attempting to blow up a synagogue yesterday. Guess we should ship them to Cuba as well. This is the biggest farce when there are some in American prisons that are just as dangerous, if not more dangerous than these detainees. Obama should’ve come up with a better plan, but those that started this program obviously had no intentions of ending it. Talking about making the country look weak, we don’t even want those that we hold captive to be held on our soil. Extremely hypocritical when we would never take another country’s prisoners, but we want another country to take ours because the big bad republicans and weak democrats in Congress are scared. Or does it have something to do with getting re-elected. Besides we already have some terrorists associated with 9/11 in this country’s prisons. The political winds are blowing and Wooten is helping to fan them. Irresponsible on both sides.
Peter
May 21st, 2009
8:41 am
OK Jim…..what are we suppose to do with them…….Do you ever have an Idea ?
This is just another in the long line of PROBLEMS facing the American Public brought upon us by Bush and Cheney……all problem inherited by Obama.
Give us your thoughts on what to do with them…….like a typical Republican you remain clueless don’t you ?
Ga Values
May 21st, 2009
8:47 am
The last person I would trust on national security would be the draft dodger Saxby Chambliss. When the country needed Saxby he ran the other way. If you want to write about how lobbyist buy legislation, Saxby is your man.
Any Suggestions Wooten?
May 21st, 2009
8:50 am
No ideas, no suggestions on what to do with them. Just opposition. Keep it moving people, theres nothing new to see here. Same old republicans good, democrats bad. The only time Wooten gives credit to a democrat is when they agree with a republican.
Ga Values
May 21st, 2009
8:51 am
you have another typo:”U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.),” should be U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (Socialist, Ethanol Lobby).. Saxby sure does not repesent Georgia and he is not a real Republican but a Big Government, Big Spending, Proamnesty Socialist.
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
8:51 am
We have Federal SUPER-MAX prisons, of which NO ONE HAS EVEN ESCAPED.
Give these individuals a legal and proper hearing to determine if they are to be charged with any crime.
We have the “Blind Sheik” and his cohorts in prison; we had Timothy McVeigh in prison; we have Charles Manson and his followers in prison; we have more than 2 million people in the American gulag.
We housed and maintained Nazi POW’s in Alabama and Mississippi during WWII. We even allowed these prisoners to be transported on trains and they were allowed to move black soldiers from their seats.
Munch
May 21st, 2009
8:56 am
Wooten wets himself and hides under the bed while insulting the brave corrections professionals of this nation.
Wooten seems to think that the Gitmo prisoners would be too much for our feeble correctional system to handle. Or maybe he thinks that they will be sent to the Mayberry jail to room with Otis, the keys in ready reach.
And shame on Harry Reid for falling for this bullshyte.
Shawny
May 21st, 2009
9:00 am
ok, knuckheads. A pentagon report said that of the 534 released from gitmo, 1 in 7 have returned to terrorism. That is approx 76, and that is only the ones that have been identified. Surely, there are more that are active and unidentified than active and identified. So, releasing them is a bad idea.
that leaves 2 alternatives. Jail them in gitmo, or jail them here, since no one else wants them, and clearly, if they were sent elsewhere and then released, then that doesn’t bode well.
So, pick your poison. The clear choice, as indicated in the 90 – 6 congressional vote, is to keep them in gitmo. Congress has info that the public may not, including the pentagon report.
So quit talking nonsense like closing gitmo.
Shawny
May 21st, 2009
9:05 am
Current CNN poll, which generally leans left, is at 52% dont close gitmo vs. 48% close gitmo. So, the general public doesn’t want it closed either.
Billy Bob
May 21st, 2009
9:08 am
Jackie, a prisoner of ware moving someone from their seat? Please explain how that happens.
Tom
May 21st, 2009
9:11 am
Oh, come on, Billy Bob, you of all people should know how that works. The Nazi POWs were, you know, …….like us, I mean real Americans. Not like “those people.”
Davo
May 21st, 2009
9:14 am
Politicians trying to manipulate citizens by using fear. You would think that these detainees were ‘X-men’ or something…no prison can hold them (here) so lets shirk our responsibility and find someone else to take them.
Shameful…on everyone.
Redneck Convert
May 21st, 2009
9:15 am
Well, if you wait long enough these Terrists at Gitmo will die of old age. That will take care of the problem, won’t it? Unless you beleive they can come back after they’re dead and bother us some more.
The more I read about this the gladder I am I’ve got my anti-tank weapon and the two machine guns that I keep for hunting and self defense. If any Activist Judge lets any of these Gitmo people out they’d better not head for Simpsons Trailer Park.
Have a good day everybody.
Davo
May 21st, 2009
9:20 am
Ummm…I just saw Luckovichs cartoon, honestly
Now You Know
May 21st, 2009
9:29 am
I didn’t know those who scream about Obama taking their 2nd Amendment rights away were so scary.
William Casey
May 21st, 2009
9:38 am
I voted for Obama and believe that torture is un-American. However, I see no reason to move the detainees from Gitmo. What’s the point?
Lefty
May 21st, 2009
9:44 am
Peter thinks he is so smart, he need to get a real job as a columnist..
He has way too much time on his hands.
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
9:50 am
@ Billy Bob
German POWs during WWII, as reported in many publications, were given passes and other perks during the weekend.
As to your disbelief that Nazi POWs were allowed to move around freely, think of what you have understood to be the “rule-of-law” relative to Jim Crow during the 1940’s. Black soldiers, wearing the uniform of the United States, were NOT ALLOWED to select any seat on the train. Matter of fact, these same black soldiers were still subject to Jim Crow laws regardless of their military status. The POWs were given the same rights and privileges of the majority population.
Many of the POW’s, especially those that had education and technical skills were housed in Georgia/Tennessee. Ever heard of Oak Ridge, TN?
Ga Values
May 21st, 2009
9:52 am
Billy Bob 9:08 am
Do you think our 2 Socialist Senators are Conservatives? Both voted for TARP, both refuse to sign the no earmark pledge and Saxby works for his son’s clients not Georgia. Are they CONSERVATIVES? If so why?
Elephant Whip
May 21st, 2009
9:53 am
“It is important to remember most detainees held at Guantanamo were captured on the battlefields in Afghanistan or Iraq and were determined to be a threat to our nation’s security.”
Actually, that has not been established and that is the problem with Gitmo. No one knows which people are the bad guys and which people were bystanders because there has been no DUE PROCESS.
And this whole 1 out of 7 returning to/joining Al Qaeda issue. What do you think sparks that? Being detained without any hearing for years? Wouldn’t you be a little pissed off?
I do not support terrorists at all. But how does America convince those watching that they should not side with terrorists when we behave like terrorists ourselves with torture, questionable imprisonment, and lack of due process.
America is strong enough to practice its values and protect against the risks involved in practicing them.
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
9:56 am
@ Billy Bob
I forgot to mention Huntsville, AL, where captured Nazi scientists were taken to build our missels. Do you know the name of the chief scientist given credit for developing our space program? Do you think he had help?
Diogenes
May 21st, 2009
10:02 am
Good morning, Jim,
Have you seen the good news?
Gallup has posted a survey showing that Republicans are losing membership in all demographics except weekly church goers.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/118528/GOP-Losses-Span-Nearly-Demographic-Groups.aspx?CSTS=alert
Of course, the sample (only 7139) wasn’t as big as the election in November, but it’s very encouraging. Let’s hope the trend continues. We Georgians certainly need more good news like this.
ncgreybr
May 21st, 2009
10:19 am
Didn’t I read the other day about a MAXIMUM security prison somewhere (maybe in Montana) that is still empty? Why not hold them there and only them.
I’d really hate to think that we, as Americans, are so afraid of people who think differently than us that we don’t even want them in our prisons. Luckovich hit it right on the head today!
And I agree with Elephant Whip, If I was held in prison for years for something I didn’t do, you bet your a** I’d be trying to get back at the guys who kept me.
Big Bucks GOP doing the Lords work
May 21st, 2009
10:23 am
The country’s biggest banks have made moves to bolster their balance
sheets by about $56 billion since the government disclosed the results
of its financial “stress tests” two weeks ago, Treasury Secretary
Timothy F. Geithner said Wednesday.
Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Mr. Geithner said that
the financial system had begun to “heal,” and that the Treasury would
soon be introducing the next phase of its financial rescue effort –
the plan to team up with private investors to buy billions of dollars
in toxic assets from banks.
“There are important indications that our financial system is starting
to heal,” Mr. Geithner told lawmakers, though he cautioned that it was
still too early to talk about an “exit strategy” for the government.
Big Bucks GOP doing the Lords work
May 21st, 2009
10:26 am
Google’s chief executive said that while his company considered buying
a newspaper or using its charitable arm to support news businesses
seeking nonprofit status, it is now unlikely to do either.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
10:33 am
As a republican state I think Georgia should be open to taking these terrorists. After which we quickly fast track their executions. Let the liberals come and protest…
Big Bucks GOP doing the Lords work
May 21st, 2009
10:34 am
Bank of America’s chief executive, Kenneth D. Lewis, said Wednesday
that he expected more mergers among American banks as the economy
stabilizes, but that his bank would not be looking for further
acquisitions.
williebkind
May 21st, 2009
10:34 am
Lets talke about the professionals at our prisons. The prisoners rape, kill, and use drugs. The inmates operate and control gangs and organized crime outside the prisons. Where are you getting all this professionalism. I suggest you watch history channel a little bit more and not the green earth by al gore.
Big Bucks GOP doing the Lords work
May 21st, 2009
10:37 am
The Treasury Department has decided to bail out GMAC, the former
financing arm of General Motors, with $7.5 billion, which would bring
its total federal assistance to more than $12 billion,
Big Bucks GOP doing the Lords work
May 21st, 2009
10:39 am
The deficit at the federal agency that guarantees pensions for 44
million Americans tripled in the last six months to a record high,
reaching $33.5 billion, largely as a result of surging bankruptcies
among companies whose pensions it expects it will soon need to take
over.
Big Bucks GOP doing the Lords work
May 21st, 2009
10:40 am
Disaster is looming for the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, known
for its classical music scholarships, as its $14 million endowment was
in the hands of Bernard L. Madoff and evaporated in his Ponzi scheme.
jm
May 21st, 2009
10:50 am
I wonder how many of those detainees were actually captured versus turned in for “reward money”.
Dusty
May 21st, 2009
10:56 am
Disconsolate Dusty…..
OH where oh where has my little post gone?
OH where oh where can it be?
With its length cut short
And all sensible retort!!
Oh where oh where can it be???????
Peter
May 21st, 2009
10:58 am
Lefty…….. You having a nice day ? I guess you don’t have anything to say either ?
Dusty
May 21st, 2009
11:04 am
Oh..that last post did not disappear. Oh well..
I want terrorists jailed in America like I want an alligator farm in my back yard.
Did anyone read about the home grown Muslim terrorists who got their religious “training” in prison and were out ready to blow up a Jewish temploe and National Guard airplanes?
Great place those prisons! Now they are training grounds for terrorists and we want more of them there? NO! Keep ALL of them together at Gitmo.
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
11:10 am
@ jm
There were 13 Chinese wigans(sp) whom are Muslims at Gitmo.
These people were there because the Chinese expelled them and no one else would allow them to legally come to their country.
They were able to go to Afghanistan and were turned over for reward money.
They are still at Gitmo because they have no where to go.
Northern Songs Ltd
May 21st, 2009
11:11 am
Big Bucks – please take your cut and paste nonsense somewhere else – like over to Bookman. All the nutz post there.
Brad Steel
May 21st, 2009
11:13 am
Thanks for bringing this pusillanimous emotional non-issue to the political fore-front.
Hopefully, the president and congress are actually tending to issues that matter.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
11:14 am
Foreigners caught on a battle field trying to kill American soilders do not deserve prison, they deserve a swift death..
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
11:19 am
The good thing about all this….
American soilders are now able to kill suspected terrorists instead of attempting to take them prisoner first.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
11:20 am
Great job liberals!
Glenn
May 21st, 2009
11:25 am
I suppose we could imprison them at one of our bases in the Marshall Islands, but that would entail reconstructing a facility much like Gitmo anyway, so what would be the point? Gitmo already has a perfect record of preventing escape. I agree with the Senate and the Administration: better the devil you know.
Elephant Whip
May 21st, 2009
11:25 am
Reality King:
So you are saying that our military should take no prisoners? Execute every enemy combatant who surrenders or is subdued?
Boy, with that kind of tactic, nations around the world will be rallying to help us in the war on terror.
@@
May 21st, 2009
11:51 am
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Obama were to put forth a half-hearted effort on this issue. Only later to say “I tried but….”
Nimble or is it NIMBY?
Mike Gegharty did an excellent piece on Obama:
Moderates thought they were electing a moderate; liberals thought they were electing a liberal. Both camps were wrong. Ideology does not have the final say in Obama’s decision-making; an Alinskyite’s core principle is to take any action that expands his power and to avoid any action that risks his power.
It’s not about the policies or the politics, and it’s certainly not about the principles. It’s about power, and it has been for a long time.
Notice that there was no mention of conservatives. We know a tyrant when we see one…however cool he may appear to be.
Peter
May 21st, 2009
11:57 am
Interesting…………..
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Obama were to put forth a half-hearted effort on this issue. Only later to say “I tried but….”
What efforts to correct the situation did Bush or the Republican’s come up with ?
I know…they walked away…..left a bunch of problems, and today complain…….as in Jim’s Column.
Things that make you go Hhmmmmmmmm !
Glenn
May 21st, 2009
12:02 pm
This isn’t a silver bullet, but like a lot of people I wonder about the advisability of implanting the Gitmo detainees with locating microdevices. Presumably such a precaution would drive the ACLU crazy, but then the ACLU already is half-crazy. Any thoughts? Is it too invasive, or is the governmental imposition warranted by a clear & present danger to our national security? If we take such measures with certain sex offenders, then why not employ such technology in the case of persons bent on killing us all?
Algonquin J. Calhoun
May 21st, 2009
12:06 pm
Reality Queen, our troops have been murdering and raping and scum like you think it’s alright. You need to find repentance on the business end of a waterboarding!
Tomhere
May 21st, 2009
12:24 pm
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men……..
If you don’t understand that, or you disagree with it, then start working to change THAT language, you knuckle-draggin’, mouth breathers.
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
12:28 pm
@ Glenn
Being a Californian, I think you may be familiar with Pelican Bay prison. My understanding is the place is considered the epitome of the “Super-Max” prison concept. It is so notorious, the courts took control of the facility because of the harsh tactics employed to house the inmates.
I think your concept of using some type of device akin to an enhanced ankle bracelet that monitors heart beat and respiration along with a small camera, would be appropriate for security of those in Gitmo until their status is resolved.
Opinenated
May 21st, 2009
12:32 pm
Gee I thought with the election of King Obama that all violence and terrorism around the world would stop, *especially* terrorism from home grown terrorists in America. You of course do NOT need to ask if there were radical Muslims involved. I’m just flabbergasted PMSNBC actually mentioned that detail.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30856404
I’d like to know what this filth was doing out on the streets anyway with such long rap sheets.
Munch
May 21st, 2009
12:43 pm
Quit listening to what the gasbags are saying they said, and go listen to the speeches by Obama and the Dick this morning. But for those too lazy:
Shorter Obama — Bush / Cheney shyte the bed, but I’ll clean up the mess. Quit being a bunch of pants pi$$ers about it, we got it covered.
Shorter Cheney — On 9/11, I cowered in terror in an undisclosed location. I am so scarred by PTSD that I can’t think straight, but you should trust me anyway. Boo!
Dusty
May 21st, 2009
12:43 pm
A.J. Calhoun, 12:06
Have you ever been in prison? What makes you so bitter? A virulent anti-war protestor?
I have seldom read anyone who expresses more vitriolic verbage against Americans than you.
If you believe what you write, you are both gullible and ignorant. You post reprehensible propaganda against our military, not an honorable effort.
Dusty
May 21st, 2009
12:57 pm
Glenn,
Security gadgets for terrorists? They’d be gone before you could say “Whooooey!”
The last news item I read about ankle security bracelets concerned a “lady” the police were watching. She disappeared! They found her ankle bracelet left behind. I can’t immagine a determined terrorist being delayed one bit by a security gadget.
A nice wide ocean around terrorists sounds much better. Keep ‘em at Gitmo, the sensible safe thing to do.
@@
May 21st, 2009
12:57 pm
Peter:
The Bush administration didn’t see Gitmo as a problem. Obama and the democrats simply made their supporters think it was to win an election.
“Every time you resolve a problem,” he (Alinsky) says, “you create another.
…and when Obama can’t resolve the problem or had no intention of solving the “problem”, as his followers see it, he makes sure the blame goes elsewhere…which was my original point.
As much as the leftists don’t wanna admit it, Obama played them like a fine fiddle and still does to this day.
I’m almost embarrassed for them/you but that’s what happens when hope is external.
Algonquin J. Calhoun
May 21st, 2009
1:00 pm
Krusty, do you ever do any reading? Americans have tortured, murdered, raped and robbed in Afghanistan and in Iraq.
Prison? No.
I have served in the USMC during wartime and I know what it is to believe death is near you. That experience does not mean I can not express myself and call out robbers and murderers when i see them operating in our military. If you don’t like it and choose to allow the criminals to continue their crimes in the name of the country that’s your business.
I’d like to invite you to my Memorial Day weeny roast and all day flag burning. Weenies and flags supplied. Please bring a lighter.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
1:02 pm
What help Elephant Whip? The Brits??
And if you should ever think me a terrorists plotting murder AJ.., waterboard away. You can bet I’d spill my beans in 35 secs too.
Northern Sympathizer
May 21st, 2009
1:06 pm
Jim is enjoying a rare victory lap after yesterdays Senate vote.
Yeah-we won. We get to hold several hundred people who may or may not be guilty in permanent detention without Due Process of Law while furthering illegal and unpopular policy. What country are we in again? Jim would have championed the Alien and Sedition Acts but they weren’t right either.
This matter has nothing to do with legality, and everything to do with politics. You couldn’t get 51 senators to agree the sky is blue if there were enough red-sky voters and lobbyists around.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
1:16 pm
No Elephant Whip, I don’t support a take no prisoner policy, I support a take no hater policy. And as many of the returning vets are now saying, its easy to tell the difference in their eyes. Hate being such a very hard thing to hide and all. Just like AJ’s..
Jake
May 21st, 2009
1:20 pm
Algonquin – If you’ve read your history, you know torture and murder is the American Way. Was it after we rebelled against the lawful autorities and massacred most of the indigenous population that we took the high moral ground? Perhaps it was after 1890 when more Medals of Honor were awarded for a massacre including lots of women and children than any other battle in our history? The Iraqis and Afghans can’t muster enough guts to remove the terrorists from their midst so whatever they get, they deserve.
Peter
May 21st, 2009
1:24 pm
Hey @@…… I am embarrassed for You / Them who think Cheney isn’t anything but a thief, and Rush has a clue.
Obama is a much better choice in today’s world that has been turned upside down by the last 8 years of plundering by the Republicans.
American’s voters have become more Independent, not siding with either party……and certainly NOT buying the “Republican Mantra” all should live in fear and Hate.
Chris Broe
May 21st, 2009
1:27 pm
If I were president, I’d store the Gitmo detainees at Yucca Mountain, and see how large a dirty bomb they could construct.
Then I’d take that dirty bomb and nuke The Caves of Osama and Al Queda. Then I’d wax Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves who also hide in their own stupid caves, and of course, I’d nuke Iran with it.
I think that covers all of the war on terror.
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
1:27 pm
@ Algonquin J. Calhoun
Salute!
US Army, Viet Nam.
People like Dusty has never been in a military environment personally, watches too much television.
She, and others that have not served, believe everything they read and hear about who, what, where and how things are done without considering those words are expressed to put the best possible light on a situation that is horrendous.
You can usually tell when those who do not have a clue, tend to construct a fairy-tale about how things are; not the real-world view.
We both know that “war is hell,” therefore, people will commit those same actions their character would allow them to perpetuate in a civilian environment. War gives them the tools to execute those crimes using the cover of “mission criteria.”
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
1:32 pm
@ RealityKing
If you were waterboarded, you indicate that you would “…spill your guts in 35 seconds.”
What would you say if the question(s) being asked were ones you had no answer?
Tricky D
May 21st, 2009
1:45 pm
Guess Calhoun put the smackdown on Musty D.
@@
May 21st, 2009
1:46 pm
Peter:
Obama is a much better choice in today’s world that has been turned upside down by the last 8 years of plundering by the Republicans.
But yet Obama moves forward with Bush’s foreign policies/national security when he led you to believe otherwise.
American’s voters have become more Independent, not siding with either party……and certainly NOT buying the “Republican Mantra” all should live in fear and Hate.
Oh really? As has historically been the case with democrats, they instill the fear that your next meal will not be forthcoming lest they (the government) put it on the table. Your law enforcement will be lacking unless you’re willing to pay up. Your children will not be educated unless you give them access to your pocketbooks. You will die without allowing them to lay hands upon your illness.
Keep peckin’ away Peter.
DB, Gwinnettian
May 21st, 2009
2:17 pm
The Bush administration didn’t see Gitmo as a problem.
So why did they say they wanted to close it?
Davo
May 21st, 2009
2:18 pm
Lindsey Graham Republicansby Jack Hunter on May 21, 2009
Speaking to the South Carolina Republican state convention over the weekend, Senator Lindsey Graham felt compelled to repeat something he had already said once earlier this month “Ron Paul is not the leader of the Republican Party” “Yes he is!” many responded. Graham said “We are not going to build a party around libertarian ideas.” “You’re a hypocrite!” screamed an audience member. “I’m a winner, pal,” replied Graham.
Actually Lindsey, no you’re not. And when it comes to the debate over the future of the Republican Party, Lindsey Graham is the biggest loser of them all.
http://www.takimag.com/article/lindsey_graham_republicans/
david wayne osedach
May 21st, 2009
2:30 pm
There are super max prisons in the US where these prisoners would pose no threat. Alternativey – our military bases have excellent prisons with thorough security.
TW
May 21st, 2009
2:31 pm
This is the same baseless fear that causes the rightwing to hate, to jam themselves into churches Sunday AM, and to look for the answer in extreme wealth.
The prisons here could hold them, no problem, morons.
The results are back on the era of decision making based on irrational fear…and it’s a loser.
Chicken much?
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
2:38 pm
“I don’t know”
And obviously…., you could put a little more trust in that answer than the one I had given you from that warm cozy liberal holding cell.
But of course, Obama’s complete lack of interest truth prove thats not what happened.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
2:42 pm
Obama can just bring all those terrorists right on over to my house in Marietta. I guarentee them a fine last meal…, no charge.
Fitzgerald
May 21st, 2009
2:59 pm
Bring the Gimo detainees to this country and let them loose in the general population of prisons. End of problem.
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
3:02 pm
@ RealityKing
The “I don’t know…” would get you an opportunity to experience other “harsh” techniques. That leaves you telling a lie to cover a lie, which creates a circular firing squad for which “they” have lots of ammunition to use against you.
El Jefe
May 21st, 2009
3:06 pm
TW,
That is not the problem. Yes, we have good jails over crowded with criminals. These folks at Gitmo are not criminals, they are terrorists. They waged war against the US. If the terrorists were covered under the Geneva Convention, they could be held without trial until hostilities ceased. That is international law.
Like the Somali pirate that gave up, the question of jurisdiction is in question. According to the Constitution Congress has jurisdiction over piracy on the high seas. Thats is in Article I, section 8 -for you folks in midtown, it says:
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
This is granted to Congress, not the judiciary. Since it is outside the Constitution, it is handled not as a crime, but a violation of a higher law.
Personally, I would drop them all off 500 miles due east of Washington DC.
Bringing them into the US would grant them protection under the Constitution, something we can not allow.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
3:10 pm
“I don’t know” wasn’t a lie, and harsher techiques would only enforce that answer. Just like it did with the terrorists that were waterboarded. Of course Obama holds the proof. Why doesn’t he release it?? He’s already shown his fondness for leaking other classified docs.
@@
May 21st, 2009
3:16 pm
DB:
This is what Bush said:
Mr. Bush said in 2006 that he would like to close the detention center. He said Thursday the fact that the facility is not closed is proof of how difficult it will be for Mr. Obama to follow through quickly.
“All I can tell you is that I have said I’d like to see Gitmo closed, this is about three years ago I said that, and we have worked very hard to put tribunals in place, for example, as a way to adjudicate some of these cases. And you’ve noticed how slow it’s been,” he said.
The problem was not in the facility, itself but in how to adjudicate case by case.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I think Obama has opted for military tribunals — something that Bush wanted all along.
And please don’t forget, DB, many of the detainees at Gitmo were plucked from the battlefield in Afghanistan….you know….Obama’s War. The war leftists were clamoring for.
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
3:21 pm
@RealityKing
Either you are misinformed or very naive.
Having someone administer torture to you would get you ANY answer they wanted. For you to say that you would repeat the “I don’t know” answer, at best, is disingenuous.
Dusty
May 21st, 2009
3:23 pm
A.J. Calhoun,
If you were a Marine, it seems you have turned against your brothers in the military. You certainly do not support them. You disgrace them.
To take a few isolated incidents in wartime and accuse the thousands in the military of such behavior is far beyond any kind of loyalty. You forgot to mention that any such behavior is severely punished.
You post like a brain washed anti-war agitator as far as I am tell. You have the freedom to speak your mind, but your own words are little different from the propaganda output of our enemies. You are helping them. Maybe you haven’t decided whose side you support. It is not obvious.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
3:26 pm
Torture can surely make a person say something written in statement. But nothing can make a person give up information of which they know nothing about…, like the names of people planning on blowing up a bridge in New York.
retiredds
May 21st, 2009
3:27 pm
Old Saxby is a mirror image of the Repubs that went down to defeat in Nov. and will go down to defeat in the future. They do not have much faith in American ingenuity. They say we can’t hold these prisoners, bunk. They say it is too expensive to change over to cleaner more efficient energy sources (denying the intellectual ingenuity of many American scientists and inventors), they say we can’t come up with a plan to retool American industry, they say we can’t change military armaments but must continue building obsolete weapons and aircraft, they say we can’t …..etc. etc. That is why Saxby and company are losing, they are stuck in the early 20th century. I am hoping that Georgians will wake up soon and see that Saxby and Isaackson, Richardson and Perdue & co. are hoplessly lost in yesterday. The US and the world is moving on and leaving them, and unfortunately Georgia in its wake. We should be electing politicians that say we can vs. we can’t.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
3:27 pm
Obama has the proof. Why doesn’t he release it and end this debate??
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
3:30 pm
Dow sheds 200 as economy fears return
Wall Street struggles as investors worry about the status of the global recovery.
Anyone else seeing Obama’s light at the end of the tunnel??
Algonquin J. Calhoun
May 21st, 2009
3:32 pm
Reality, we need a fellow like you in this war of terror. Would you consider joining the armed forces and deploying to a war zone? Those wrong doers would get what’s coming to them if they mess with you! Can we count on you?
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
3:33 pm
Or is he referring to his socialistic train barreling down on us?
Peter
May 21st, 2009
3:35 pm
Here is a bunch of BUNK………..”And please don’t forget, DB, many of the detainees at Gitmo were plucked from the battlefield in Afghanistan….you know….Obama’s War. The war leftists were clamoring for.”
HA HA HA…….American’s desire Peace….not a Republican made up WAR !
HA HA HA…….the WAR in Afghanistan is not Obama’s War…… that was going on before he took office…..and primarily because BUSH did Zero about Bin Laden, thus Al Qaeda grew in strength.
HA HA HA……to this malarkey !
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
3:40 pm
@RealityKing
If you were in one of the “controlled” military training environments, for instance, basic training and go through the gas mask training using simple tear gas, I would be willing to bet that you would soil your clothes. You seem to think that you could resist those items inflicted on you because your will-power is sufficient.
Keep in mind, those things in basic training are “very mild.” To be subjected to full-blown torture techniques on a daily basis while your have no contact with familiar surroundings would make you stand on your head.
You keyboard warriors don’t have a clue. Please back away from the TV.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
3:40 pm
I would gladly serve in your place AJ. Unfortuntely my back and legs haven’t been able to keep up with the sharpness of my tongue and wit. So here I am…, defending the USA from within, against her own citizens.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
3:42 pm
Sorry Jackie, but our own Marine recuits get more pain inflicted upon them than all the terrorists combined…, isn’t that right AJ.
Dusty
May 21st, 2009
3:44 pm
Jackie,
I have mentioned many times on AJC blogs that my father, husband and son all served in the military. Two of them in wartime. All went overseas. That does not make me “military” but it certainly DOES expose me to military matters.
Whenever I read someone scurrilously degrading the military it makes me very angry. I vist the grave of my father and mother in the National Cemetery at Beaufort, S.C. Many buried there died during wartime. I look around and see the graves of those who served this country to keep us free and I am so proud.
When I read the ouput of A.J. Calhoun and his likes, I try to remember that they are Americans. It would help if they could act like they are.
Dan
May 21st, 2009
3:45 pm
Prisons like Gitmo are necessary, simple as that. Hey even Obama knows this. All of these arguments are simply political posturing. Shouting I will close Gitmo from the top of his lungs, while whispering to his aides to make sure the plans to expand Bagram prison in Afghanistan are moving along as planned. Now keeping Gitmo would be the smart thing to do logistically, but he wouldn’t be able to placate the rabid left, so at least he has plans to have the same capability somewhere else. It’s just his blatant hypocrisy, and the medias complicity with it, that is so distasteful
Casey
May 21st, 2009
3:46 pm
Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled terrorists.
The only reason that these representatives are so up in arms about housing the Gitmo detainees in the US is because of political posturing. They don’t want to be labeled the guy who wanted terrorists in his state. Get over it people – they will be behind 12 inches of thick steel. We need some leadership from the big guy Michael Steele in the Republican Party, who is supposedly an admirer of Edmund Burke. Apparently he missed this quote -
“Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”
Right now we don’t need representatives cowering in their penny loafers because they are afraid of the political consequences. Guantanamo Bay needs to be closed because it is an embarrassment to the Constitution of the United States of America, and I cannot feel anything but shame that so many of our national leaders are willing to sacrifice our founding principles in favor of the public’s fear.
RealityKing
May 21st, 2009
3:48 pm
What happens to Marine recruits that walk off that COLD NC beach AJ?
What happens to those that can not hold their breath long enough or shy away from prolonged water submersion?
And worse of all…, what happens to Marine recruits that cry for their mommies?
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
4:01 pm
@ Dusty,
Your opinion of how one should “act” in displaying their bona fides relative to your interpretation.
What you have done in addressing Algonquin J. Calhoun and others whom have experienced combat and to support those specious arguments by further impugning that persons patriotism is, in my humble opinion, as low as whale gravy.
You were not there; you do not know what the experiences others had; you can only assume those recollections from others are factually correct. What all vets will tell you, each of us had different experiences and different reactions to those adversities experienced in war.
Further, our views are based upon experiences. Our patriotism must have been supreme as we were ordered to put ourselves in harms way. We saluted and went off to war. We were lucky and we survived, should we have survivors guilt?
In other words, our patriotism can be measured in the actions we have taken in the name of our country. What can you say along those lines?
Jackie
May 21st, 2009
4:05 pm
@RealityKing
How would you know what the Marine recruits receive? Ever been there?
As I see it, you have the ability to speak to matters to which you have no clue.
Sounds to me that you have a severe case of diarrhea of the lip.
Jake
May 21st, 2009
4:11 pm
Casey – When the Constitution gets embarassed does it turn red or just roll over in its storage case?
Dusty
May 21st, 2009
4:13 pm
Dear Casey 3:46
Yes, Casey, give us your tired, your poor, your befuddled liberals. OH nevermind. We ALREADY have befuddled libs.
If killers break into your home,Casey, I hope you won’t offer them the spare bedroom. Sure,you can lock the door and they will NEVER escape. Never happens! No worry!
That may be your policy but it isn’t mine. NO invitations to America for terrorists. As ’tis said “Don’t tempt fate!”
@@
May 21st, 2009
4:19 pm
Americans desire Peace!
Peter you might be an oddball but the majority of the American public was 100% behind Bush’s decision to go into Afghanistan. They wanted revenge and rightfully so. I for one, am glad Bush had the good sense not to linger on Osama’s home field. How long were the Russians there….12 years and only to be handed defeat. Many armies before them surrendered countless bodies to their cause.
Officially, 15,000 Soviet soldiers died in Afghanistan, though some analysts believe the true number was higher. Guerrilla ambushes and hand-to-hand combat on mountain passes left some of the soldiers so badly mutilated that military authorities ordered their caskets nailed shut so relatives could not see the carnage.
No, Peter….this one’s all on Obama and I think him a fool for going forward. He’s already committed to invading Pakistan (a sovereign country) if need be.
Sounds familiar, don’t it?
Now getta hold of yourself, Peter and I ain’t talkin’ bout down below.
Chris
May 21st, 2009
4:35 pm
Bookman and CNN would love to have them here, they could do features on their shared dislike of the U.S., etc.
Dusty
May 21st, 2009
4:38 pm
Jackie,
I believe your thinking is “lower than whale gravy”.
You have been in the military yet you support a man who pictures the military as the scum of the earth. I certainly appreciate military service but it is no excuse to discredit all armed forces with accusations of wholesale criminal behavior. IT IS NOT TRUE! Therefore I object.
Were you in battle, Jackie? Were you in a military prison? Did you watch any so called torture procedures? Did you go overseas? How long were you in the military? My immediate family served 21 years all together. How about you? I only ask because you seem to consider yourself a military expert.