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Republicans Attempting to Block Detainee Transfer to Their Districts

By possum

Several Republican Party members in Congress have introduced legislation intended to block the transfer of Guantanamo detainees into their legislative districts.

Congressional Republicans have introduced bills that would bar the government from moving any of the 250 inmates to some of the most prominent military and civilian detention centres in the US, including a "supermax" high-security federal prison in Florence, Colorado, which holds at least 16 convicted international terrorists, and a South Carolina naval brig that holds the only enemy combatant jailed in America.

During the first week of his Presidency, Obama signed an executive order directing the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year.  Since that time there has been much discussion about the fate of the detainees remaining in the facility.  If Guantanamo is closed, those men must be transferred or freed.  Those facing further judicial proceedings will require detention somewhere in the world.  Since the problem is an American created issue transfer to the U.S. mainland makes the most sense.

But not everyone in the nation is happy with the choices of possible detention sites.

Last week, 20 Texas Republicans sent a letter to Obama urging him not to send Guant?namo detainees to their state.  Sam Brownback, the Kansas senator, aims to keep detainees out of a military prison there, and an Arizona Republican has filed legislation that would prevent detainees from being shipped to federal civilian or military prisons.

Opposition Republicans claim the U.S. judicial system is not capable of handing detainee reviews.  This claim comes in spite of 200 years of history in the nation in which many similar trials were held.  Best estimates suggest 60-80 of the current detainees could end in the U.S. judicial system.

Republican fearmongering knows no real bounds.

Any such detention facility in the continental United States would instantly become a target for terrorist[s], who would likely seek to free the terrorist detainees, destroy the facility, or both.

Such suggestions are far out of line given both the history of our nation and the current high levels of security operation.  

The continuing complaints seem to be an effort both to continue indefinite detention without judicial process and to insure the failure of the Obama administration.  Every stop is being pulled out in order to swing American opinion away from a very popular President Obama.

openDemocracy, Flickr, Creative Commons

Peace.

Full post as published by Never In Our Names on February 18, 2009 (boomark / email).