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 ...
Wonder if they all called their representatives!!
This will be pushed off until after Election. ..and/or; to when our Nation faces a much bigger problem that it’s ‘Gitmo closing’.
I predict that within 5 years, all Gitmo detainees that are released inside the USA borders will appear on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.
John Walsh can have a whole NEW Sat night program on Fox.
No doubt you’re correct.
I’d like to think someone could get through to our boy president closing Gitmo is not the thing to do, maybe this is the beginning of that effort.
The Obama Administration has cleared 30 Guantanamo Bay terrorist suspects and will soon set them free. One of those Obama has cleared for freedom is an al-Qaeda doctor named Ayman Batarfi, who has ties to the terrorist group’s anthrax program.
According to the Weekly Standard, Batarfi also met with Osama bin Laden and was in Tora Bora when al-Qaeda and the Taliban fought the United States. How much do you want to bet that a friend of Osama bin Laden is no friend of ours?
Congressman Jack Murtha said that his constituents would house them.
The Obama Administration has cleared 30 Guantanamo Bay terrorist suspects and will soon set them free. One of those Obama has cleared for freedom is an al-Qaeda doctor named Ayman Batarfi, who has ties to the terrorist group’s anthrax program.
According to the Weekly Standard, Batarfi also met with Osama bin Laden and was in Tora Bora when al-Qaeda and the Taliban fought the United States. How much do you want to bet that a friend of Osama bin Laden is no friend of ours?
Congressman Jack Murtha said that his constituents would house them.
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