Posted on 07/21/2009 4:07:23 PM PDT by csvset
U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, just back from a fact-finding trip to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, says the visit reinforced his opposition to closing the facility and moving the detainees held there to the United States.
President Barack Obama has pledged to close the prison by January, pleasing human rights advocates who said reports of inhumane treatment there stained the nations reputation. But the White House said Monday that a task force studying how to do that has been given another six months to deliver its recommendations.
That delay poses a huge difficulty for prosecutors building cases against detainees suspected of terrorist activity, Forbes said Tuesday.
Forbes, a Republican from Chesapeake, visited Guantanamo with three other members of Congress.
He said the chief prosecutor there told them that because of the delay, he will be forced to seek a continuance of the cases against the suspects in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
If the judge doesnt allow the continuance, and its far from certain that they will, he may have to drop the charges, Forbes said.
Moreover, he said, the military already has a state-of-the-art secure facility at Guantanamo for trying the detainees. There is nothing like it in the United States, he said, and building a comparable facility could cost up to $100 million.
The Guantanamo prison now houses about 240 detainees. The Bush administration acknowledged that some were subjected to harsh techniques such as waterboarding, which simulates drowning.
Now, however, the detainees are well treated, Forbes said.
They have better health care than most of our senior citizens have here in the United States, he said. There is a fully equipped hospital, he added, and detainees on hunger strikes can even choose what flavor of Ensure they will be given when they are force-fed. Butter pecan is the top choice, he said.
If the detainees are moved to the United States, Forbes said, guards will have to be specially trained to handle them.
These guys have a type of mind control and controlling nature on the other prisoners that we havent seen here in the United States, he said.
Forbes has introduced legislation to prohibit the use of federal funds to transfer any of the detainees to Virginia. The administration has not proposed doing so.
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, Bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com
Could someone post a CAPTAIN OBVIOUS graphic here?
Thanks.
Hang them. Now.
Matters NOT what the facts are. Obama made campaign promises and he’s hell bent on keeping them. Not for the sake of keeping his promises but for the sake of ruining us.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.