Thread: Senate rebukes Obama, blocks Guantanamo shutdown

Senate rebukes Obama, blocks Guantanamo shutdown

WASHINGTON – In a rare, bipartisan defeat for President Barack Obama, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to keep the prison at Guantanamo Bay open for the foreseeable future and forbid the transfer of any detainees to facilities in the United States.

Democrats lined up with Republicans in the 90-6 vote that came on the heels of a similar move a week ago in the House, underscoring widespread apprehension among Obama's congressional allies over voters' strong feelings about bringing detainees to the U.S. from the prison in Cuba.

The president readied a speech for Thursday on the U.S. fight against terrorism.

Obama has vowed to close the prison by January 2010, and the Senate's vote was not the final word on the matter. It will be next month at the earliest before Congress completes work on the legislation, giving the White House time pursue a compromise that would allow the president to fulfill his pledge.

But Obama's maneuvering room was further constrained during the day when FBI Director Robert Mueller told a congressional panel that he had concerns about bringing Guantanamo Bay detainees to prisons in the United States. Among the risks is "the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the United States," said Mueller, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001 and is serving a 10-year fixed term in office.

Additionally, U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled this week that some prisoners — but not all — can be held indefinitely at Guantanamo without being charged, thus increasing the pressure on the administration to develop a plan for the men held there.

After the Senate vote, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, "The president understands that his most important job is to keep the American people safe and that he is not going to make any decision or any judgment that imperils the safety of the American people."

He added Obama has not yet decided where some of the detainees will be sent. A presidential commission is studying the issue.

There was no suspense in the moments leading to the Senate vote, although Democrats maneuvered to take political credit for denying Obama funds he sought to close the prison. They hoped to negate weeks of Republican warnings about the danger involved.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, favors closing Guantanamo, and the legislation his panel originally sent to the floor provided money for that purpose once the administration submitted a plan for the shutdown.

In changing course and seeking to delete the funds, he said, "The fact that the administration has not offered a workable plan at this point made that decision rather easy."

The administration asked for $80 million to close the facility. Obama promised repeatedly as a presidential candidate to shut down the prison, calling it a blot on the international image of the United States.

Even in voting to deny him the funds, Obama's Democratic allies insisted the president was fundamentally correct.

"Guantanamo is used by al-Qaida as a symbol of American abuse of Muslims and is fanning the flames of anti-Americanism around the world," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.

And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who had said on Tuesday he opposed allowing detainees to be transferred to U.S. prisons, signaled he might change his mind on that point. "If the administration proposes a plan that recommends the transfer of some detainees to American prisons, he will evaluate it carefully and make a judgment at that time," said spokesman Jim Manley.

The lopsided vote was a victory for the Senate Republicans, who have recently turned their attention to Obama's policies on foreign policy and terrorism after failing to make headway in criticizing his economic program.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has delivered numerous speeches in recent weeks raising pointed questions about Obama's plans to close the prison without first explaining where the men held there would be sent. "For months, we have been saying what Senate Democrats now acknowledge: that because the administration has no plan for what to do with the 240 detainees at Guantanamo, it would be irresponsible and dangerous for the Senate to appropriate the money to close it," McConnell said shortly before the vote.

Obama came to office pledging a dramatic change in George W. Bush's terrorism policy. In the months since, he has woven an uncertain course, occasionally angering liberals.

He first backed the cancellation of military tribunals for prisoners, then announced he wanted them resumed with greater legal protections for the accused. Last week, he reversed course on another issue, deciding to appeal a court-ordered release of prisoner-abuse photos taken at Abu Ghraib in Iraq.

Several Republicans praised Obama for those very steps.

"I commend him for being very willing to change his opinion in light of having access to the intelligence he didn't have access to" as a candidate, said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah.

FBI Director Mueller made his comments before the House Judiciary Committee.

Prodded by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to agree that Guantanamo detainees could be kept safely in maximum security prisoners in the United States, Mueller declined. He noted that in some instances gang leaders have run their gangs from inside prisons.

If Reid has appeared equivocal on the possible transfer of prisoners, Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the second-in-command among Democrats, pointed out that no one has ever escaped from a federal "supermax" prison and that 347 convicted terrorists are among those held in them.

That drew some support from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "The idea that we cannot find a place to securely house 250-plus detainees within the United States is not rational," he said.

Not all Republicans were thinking along the same lines.

"No good purpose is served by allowing known terrorists, who trained at terrorist training camps, to come to the U.S. and live among us," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas. "Guantanamo Bay was never meant to be an Ellis Island."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090520/ap_ ... guantanamo

Thank God. There was talk of them coming to Camp Pendleton and people here were freaking out about it.
I want those terrorist a$$holes right there at GITMO where they belong. Far, Far away from innocent civilians and military families! I will never understand the mind set of libs!

FBI chief worried about Gitmo detainees in U.S.
Mueller says prisoners could radicalize others at high-security prisons

WASHINGTON - FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress on Wednesday that bringing Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States could pose a number of risks, even if they were kept in maximum-security prisons. Responding to FBI concerns, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration would not put Americans at risk.

Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Mueller faced repeated questions about the prospect of transferring to the United States some of the 240 inmates currently held at the naval base in Cuba.

President Barack Obama has ordered the Guantanamo Bay detention center closed by January 2010, but that timetable may be in jeopardy. As Mueller testified, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to block funding for bringing detainees to the U.S., whether freed or imprisoned.


'Financing, radicalizing others'
At the start of Wednesday's hearing, Mueller was asked what concerns the FBI has about the release of Guantanamo detainees.

"The concerns we have about individuals who may support terrorism being in the United States run from concerns about providing financing, radicalizing others," Mueller said, as well as "the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the United States."

"All of those are relevant concerns," Mueller said.

The FBI chief said he would not discuss specific individuals. He said there were also potential risks to putting detainees in maximum security prisons.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., whose district includes the World Trade Center site, then prodded Mueller to agree that such individuals could be safely kept in maximum security prisons in the United States.

Mueller balked at Nadler's suggestion, noting that in some instances imprisoned gang leaders have run their operations from inside prisons.

"It depends on the circumstances," Mueller said.

Asked about Mueller's comments, Attorney General Eric Holder said the government won't do anything with detainees "that's going to put the American people at risk."

"The concerns that have been expressed by the director, concerns expressed by other people, will all be taken into account," Holder said, adding that the administration is still working on the closure plan and he still believes they can meet the president's deadline in eight months.

GOP critical of Obama on the issue
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs declined to respond directly to Mueller.

"The president hasn't decided where some of the detainees will be transferred. Those are decisions that the task forces are working on and that the president will lay out and discuss tomorrow," Gibbs told reporters.

Republicans have been criticizing Obama on the issue, and even fellow Democrats say they need to see a plan for closing Guantanamo before they can support the White House.

Republicans urged Mueller to take the FBI's concerns to the White House.

"No good purpose is served by allowing known terrorists, who trained at terrorist training camps, to come to the U.S. and live among us," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the senior Republican on the committee. "Guantanamo Bay was never meant to be an Ellis Island."

Mueller was also asked if he had a solution for what to do with the detainees.

"I don't," Mueller answered. "It's a very difficult issue and people are honestly wrestling with what the best resolution is."

Judge rules on Gitmo detainees
Mueller's statements come a day after a federal judge ruled that the United States can continue to hold some prisoners in military detention indefinitely without any charges.

U.S. District Judge John Bates' opinion issued Tuesday night limited the Obama administration's definition of who can be held. But he said Congress in the days after Sept. 11, 2001 gave the president the authority to hold anyone involved in planning, aiding or carrying out the terrorist attacks.

Bates' opinion comes amid increasing debate over whether Obama is going to release anyone from Guantanamo. Obama has promised to close the prison by January, but Senate Democrats say they will block the move until he comes up with a plan for the detainees.

Bates' opinion came in the case of several Guantanamo prisoners who are challenging their detention. ACLU attorney Jonathan Hafetz said the opinion "flouts the Constitution's prohibition against indefinite detention without charge."

"The decision wrongly concludes that terrorism suspects at Guantanamo may continue to languish in military detention rather than being prosecuted in our civilian courts," Hafetz said. "Like the president's recent decision to revive military commissions, this ruling perpetuates rather than ends the failed experiment in lawlessness that is Guantanamo."

Earlier this year, Bates ordered the Obama administration to give its definition of whom the United States can continue to hold at Guantanamo. The administration responded with a definition that was largely similar to the Bush administration's, drawing criticism from human rights advocates.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30846430/