May 20 2009
GITMO Dividing Moderate And Liberal Democrats
President Obama is getting back-peddle cover from a lot of different places when it comes to his now inevitable flip-flop on closing the terrorist detainee camp in GITMO. First, Senate Democrats gave his flip-flop cover when they refused to fund any closing and transfer of detainees for all of GF 2010 – which runs from Oct ’09 to Sep ’10:
In a 90-6 vote, the Senate followed in the footsteps of the House of Representatives and passed an amendment deleting $80 million in funds from a war funding bill earmarked to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.
No way to execute that executive order he signed saying GITMO’s detainee facility would close by January – no money. And then his FBI director gave him more cover by noting that even incarcerated terrorist pose a serious threat to the US if they get anywhere near our prison populations:
FBI chief Robert Mueller Wednesday undermined President Barack Obama’s plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison by warning that detainees could fuel terrorism if transferred to US soil.
“The concerns we have about individuals who may support terrorism being in the United States run from concerns about providing financing to terrorists, radicalizing others,” Mueller told a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee.
The threat of Guantanamo detainees “radicalizing” others would apply even if they were held in maximum-security prisons on the US mainland, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicated.
No duh! The White House admitted today to being a bit ‘hasty’ in its approach to the GITMO detainees. Now, now Mr President, let’s not get hasty – it could be very dangerous.
What is interesting is how this matter has divided the hard core liberal left form the more centrist, national security oriented democrats. Will the far left do to President Obama what the true conservatives did to President Bush and weaken his presidency? More than likely – that is what fringes do.
I think the GOP did a good job on this one. However, I think Dems heard from their constituents on it more. Take Sen Webb-VA. He’s been vocal about closing GITMO (and still wants to). But, he now wants to keep it open, praised the facility, wants the military trials to go on……and, maybe someday close it. He also said he did NOT want any of them coming to the US. I’m not sure what caused his 180……but, I think it was the voice of the people of his state.
I think Obama is going to have a tough row to hoe on GITMO.
Now where will they put the evil capitalists?
We spent so much money building GITMO so why build another one?
Now that Obama is going to back peddle on this one, I wonder if he will back peddle on the not so safe cars…
Especially when people hear about the “No Jaws of Life”. If the 600V battery shorts out, the Jaws of Life cannot be used on these cars. Am told this is not a rumor. If this is wrong, please let us know. Thanks!
I would not be surprised if the Americans object to giving up their own “fuel-operated” cars to these electric cars. Who wants to drive a Smart car on the highway?
Obama says Gitmo makes us less safe because the Islamist use the existence of it as a rallying cry. Maybe so. But it is just one of many rallying cries for the Islamist. Bombing Muslim lands, the “Palestinian occupation”, the occupation by the West of Muslim lands that are considered part of the caliphate, Southern Spain for an example, Democracy in general as a concept not of God, I could go on. I’m wondering how Obama prioritizes these complaints in relation to our national security? My guess is that he is still stuck on what works for a campaign against Bush. Only MSM can buy into such strawmen assertions.
Anything Obama can say against Gitmo, Bush already thought of and decided the security of this nation was worth the bad PR. Now that’s a fact I can believe in.
Did you hear Cheney? HE WAS FANTASTIC.
Stop playing politics with our physical and financial security, Mr. obama. True leaders don’t do that.
[…] Islam recruitment. This iadds a lot of weight to the statement made by the current head of the FBI I noted yesterday regarding the risk of bringing the GITMO detainees into our prison system. This is one case where […]