Thursday
May072009
Guantanamo Prisoners: Soon In Your Neighborhood?
Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 5:34PM
By Celia Canon Talk Radio News Service
It is still unclear whether prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility will be transferred to military prisons in the United States. That was the message given to top members of Congress today by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who testified for two hours before the Committee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies to discuss Department of Justice budget priorities.
Closing the prison “require(s) immediate interagency action,” Holder said. “While implementing these (Presidential) orders, the Department will take necessary precautions to ensure decisions regarding Guantanamo detainees account for (the) safety concerns of all Americans. Executing these orders will have a significant workload and cost impact on the Department and this budget reflects what is needed.”
In January, President Barack Obama announced that he will fulfill his campaign promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. The facility is slated to close within a year of Obama’s announcement, and it is up to the Justice Department to find detention locations for the prisoners, most of whom have been imprisoned for years as suspected terrorists.
The Committee was concerned with Holder’s $30 million request to close the prison, perhaps because Holder did not confirm or deny his authority to allow the detainees to be transferred and housed in the U.S.
Committee Chair Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) said DOJ is suffering from a lack of morale and trust. “I want to know how the Department of Justice has improved accountability of taxpayer dollars so that every dollar spent to secure our communities is a dollar well spent... Spending excesses will not be tolerated.”
Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said that “the very idea of taking money from victims and law enforcing officers to educate and comfort terrorists, pedophiles and career criminals, I think, is an abomination.”
Critics of Obama’s decision fear that housing suspected terrorists on U.S. soil opens the country to terrorist attacks.
On the safety of Americans, who could potentially live near former Guantanamo detainees, Mikulski said that while international law must be upheld, “we have to make sure that streets and neighborhoods don’t think that they are going to be the repository of Guantanamo prisoners.”
Holder replied: “I will work to strengthen the activities of the federal government to protect the American people from terrorism. I will use every available tactic to defeat our adversaries, and I will do so within the letter and the spirit of our Constitution.”
It is still unclear whether prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility will be transferred to military prisons in the United States. That was the message given to top members of Congress today by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who testified for two hours before the Committee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies to discuss Department of Justice budget priorities.
Closing the prison “require(s) immediate interagency action,” Holder said. “While implementing these (Presidential) orders, the Department will take necessary precautions to ensure decisions regarding Guantanamo detainees account for (the) safety concerns of all Americans. Executing these orders will have a significant workload and cost impact on the Department and this budget reflects what is needed.”
In January, President Barack Obama announced that he will fulfill his campaign promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. The facility is slated to close within a year of Obama’s announcement, and it is up to the Justice Department to find detention locations for the prisoners, most of whom have been imprisoned for years as suspected terrorists.
The Committee was concerned with Holder’s $30 million request to close the prison, perhaps because Holder did not confirm or deny his authority to allow the detainees to be transferred and housed in the U.S.
Committee Chair Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) said DOJ is suffering from a lack of morale and trust. “I want to know how the Department of Justice has improved accountability of taxpayer dollars so that every dollar spent to secure our communities is a dollar well spent... Spending excesses will not be tolerated.”
Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said that “the very idea of taking money from victims and law enforcing officers to educate and comfort terrorists, pedophiles and career criminals, I think, is an abomination.”
Critics of Obama’s decision fear that housing suspected terrorists on U.S. soil opens the country to terrorist attacks.
On the safety of Americans, who could potentially live near former Guantanamo detainees, Mikulski said that while international law must be upheld, “we have to make sure that streets and neighborhoods don’t think that they are going to be the repository of Guantanamo prisoners.”
Holder replied: “I will work to strengthen the activities of the federal government to protect the American people from terrorism. I will use every available tactic to defeat our adversaries, and I will do so within the letter and the spirit of our Constitution.”
Reader Comments (1)
We should give them $100, cut off their feet, and return them to their homeland.