Posted on 05/04/2009 11:52:40 AM PDT by jazusamo
House Democratic leaders Monday dropped President Obama's request for $81 million to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, bowing to strong Republican criticism that the administration lacks a plan to relocate terror suspects detained there.
Mr. Obama requested the money as part a spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Democratic appropriators left it out of the bill circulated Monday among House Appropriations Committee staffers.
Republicans have been criticizing Mr. Obama for rushing to keep his campaign promise to close the prison camp at the U.S. Navy base on Cuba without a plan for what to do with the roughly 240 terrorism suspects currently held on the island.
Closing the prison "just never stood up to logic. There is no place on the planet to take the worst of the worst that would treat them as well as they are treated at [Guantanamo]," said Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, who visited the facility a month ago.
"The bottom line really is that [if the prisoners are released], innocent people will die and some of them likely will be Americans," he said.
Democratic leaders were not immediately available to comment.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, previously dismissed the Republicans' objections as another example of partisan obstructionism by the minority.
"It would be highly irresponsible for Republicans to attempt to hold up funding as part of their just-say-no strategy," Reid spokesman Jim Manley said.
Senate Democrats have not come out in support of using the war-spending bill to close the prison camp, a strong signal that the move by House appropriators could kill the funding in the bill.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The few smart Dems are scared to death that if the U.S. is victim of another major terrorist attack after Obama disarms our security apparatus their cushy gov’t jobs will be in serious jeopardy.
The Pubs pressured for the sensible thing. But if it were I, I would be tempted to vote for the funding, leaving Obama no excuse when he ends up with egg on his face at the end of the year.
Oshama having to ditch one campaign promise after another.
Yes, Zer0 forgot there’s others in government besides the president.
Gotta love it, playing politics with our safety.
We should move the detainess right smack dab in the middle of the Dems districts. Let’s see how they vote then.
NIMBY syndrome democrats is probably a big part of it.
This is one of the few cases where Obama has not doubled down on a stupid error and allowed it to become enshrined in policy rather than admitting a mistake.
Of course, the Donks are going to have to pretend that they are keeping Gitmo open due to forces beyond their control. But at least they are doing the right thing.
Just say no is a great strategy, it’s the ONLY strategy. Somebody has to do it.
Ya know, President Bush always had a laundry list of things he wanted too and never go through.
How come the “just say NO” agenda was perfectly fine for the Rats when our President was George W. Bush? I am pleased that some Rats are beginning to see the light that Obama just maybe doesn’t have all the smarts that the liberal media confers on him.
This just represents “that man’s” realization he better not close that prison. Course, now that a brutha is in charge, they’ll stop torturing and persecuting the prisoners.
Guantanamo Bay is not going to be shut down. Guantanamo Bay was never going to be shut down. This is an invention of the running dog lackeys of the radical right wing greedmongers.
This country is going to need those few “smart democrats” to keep this country from going to a really bad place in a hand basket.
Yes. Now, if Congress continues to withhold funding, Obama wins anyway. Why? “I tried to close Gitmo - just like I promised - and end the torture, BUT CONGRESS WOULDN’T LET ME.”
Wasn’t the Executive Order closing Gitmo pretty wishy-washy to begin with?
Just more government games if you ask me.
I find it less than believable republicans had any influence on this at all. They were only mentioned to make it sound ‘bipartisan’. Some dems are smart enough to understand what a cluster bomb shutting down gitmo would be. Frankly, despite all the rhetoric, I believe a majority of dems feel gitmo is a good thing. The real issue is Bush Derangement Syndrome.
Obama never intended to actually close Gitmo in 1 year. He announced it to appease the left wing kook fringe.
Obama and the Democrats dont need a single Republican vote to pass this or anything else. They own it all now.
No prisons in the U.S. can house them or will take them. No foreign countries want them. So Obama can house them all in the White House. Plenty of space to divide some of those rooms up into single quarters for prisoners. Lots of police and secret service people around already. And...on Obama and his wife's date night, they can have dinner with the terrorists and talk peace while they share imported steaks (although, perhaps, sans the steak knives, LOL).
What's he gonna say when we get hit again? If we get hit he will pay the same as if he had closed it. we get hit.
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