Posted on 05/20/2010 11:17:58 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
President Barack Obama's hopes of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects slipped further into the distance Wednesday night. The defense authorization bill approved by the House Armed Services Committee, 59 to 0, late Wednesday contains language barring funding to build or convert any facility in the U.S. to accept former Guantanamo detainees.
Such a provision could scuttle President Barack Obama's plan to close Guantanamo by purchasing a state prison in Thomson, Ill. to house some of those now at Gitmo.The administration had sought $350 million in Department of Defense funding for detainee-related closure and transfer expenses and another $237 million in Department of Justice funding for the Thomson site, including paying the state for the jail.
"The Committee firmly believes that the construction or modification of any facility in the U.S. to detain or imprison individuals currently being held at Guantanamo must be accompanied by a thorough and comprehensive plan that outlines the merits, costs, and risks associated with utilizing such a facility. No such plan has been presented to date," a summary released by House Armed Services said.
The White House had no official comment on the committee's action, but an official noted that the NDAA legislation doesn't entirely reject the idea of jailing Guantanamo prisoners in the U.S.
"The Chairman’s mark also required a report, due by April 2011, from the SecDef on the merits, costs, and risks of using any proposed facility in the US or Territories. So the issue will be revisited," the official said.
However, if the White House accepts such a report as a prerequisite to closure, it will mean abandoning Obama's prediction that the facility could close by the end of 2010. He had earlier vowed to close Gitmo in his first year in office, but saw that prospect fall away due to bipartisan Congressional resistance to bringing prisoners to U.S. soil.
In recent months, liberal groups and some conservatives have come to an awkward meeting of the minds in opposition to the idea of moving prisoners from Guantanamo to Illinois for open-ended detention. Conservatives view such a move as pointless, costly and potentially dangerous. Liberals oppose any legislation that would countenance preventative detention of terror suspects without convicting them of a crime.
The House Armed Services Committee has 59 members???
Wow.
What a waste of money. They should have held the trials in the field and dispensed “justice.” BS.
One of two things will happen: 1) Hussein will throw a hissy and invoke martial law, or 2) the tide is turning against him.
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