Ya know the more I watch the more concerned I become. Twice before I posted that the Obama Administration appears to be woefully unprepared. Now it appears that his own party agrees.



Democrats see lack of planning on Guantanamo Bay
TAGS: John Boehner, Guantanamo, Democrats, Harry Reid, David Obey, Neal Abercrombie, Carl Levin, NRSC
By ALEX ISENSTADT | 5/7/09 6:50 PM EDT
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Guantanamo Bay prison
Democrats are ganging up on President Barack Obama’s plans to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison
Photo: AP

Now Democrats are ganging up on President Barack Obama’s plans to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison. Or rather, the president’s lack of planning for how to shutter the prison and how to handle the detainees.

“They say, ‘We’re going to close Guantanamo.’ OK, fine. How are you going to do that? That’s the question,” Rep. Neal Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) told POLITICO Thursday. “They should have had that worked out from the get-go.”

“There’s this vague game plan that now we’re going to leave Guantanamo,” Abercrombie said. “It’s allowed it to become a political football.”

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said he believed there were prisons in the United States that could handle the Guantanamo detainees, but it’s becoming clear that many states and localities want nothing to do with the terrorist suspects.

“I think there are prisons probably in this country that are in places which are very secure and not in populated areas which might be willing to take on these folks,” Levin told POLITICO. “That would be helpful if there are still places [willing to take detainees in]. I think there are still places, but if the will is there I don’t know.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who supports the Obama plan, admits that there’s no clear answer yet on Guantanamo: “The issue is, how are we going to close it?”

And House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-Wis.) has told the White House that “when they have a plan, they're welcome to come back and talk to us.”

The Democratic doubts on Guantanamo come as Republicans have decided to run with a strategy of stoking parochial fears about terrorists being transferred to people’s home towns.

On Thursday, House Republicans introduced a bill seeking to make it impossible for Obama to release detainees into the homeland without pre-approval from Congress and individual states. Kansas Rep. Todd Tiarht, meanwhile, introduced an amendment in the Appropriations Committee seeking to ensure that no federal funds are spent on releasing the detainees.

“The world did not suddenly become safer on Jan. 20, 2009,” House Minority Leader John Boehner said today. “The administration’s political decision to close Guantanamo Bay begs an important question: What is the administration’s strategy for dealing with these terrorists?”

The National Republican Congressional Committee also got into the act Thursday, unveiling a slew of news releases challenging targeted Democrats in states where prisoners may be released on whether they support the White House policy. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is expected to follow suit Friday with releases targeting 2010 Democratic incumbents Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

GOP pollster Glen Bolger called the strategy a homerun for a minority party that has had difficulty finding a potent issue to play off of.

“Gitmo is NIMBY on steroids,” Bolger said. “All in favor of having Gitmo terrorists housed in your Congressional District raise your hand. Whoa — no hands go up!”

“This issue is at the intersection of good policy and good politics. That's been a rarity for the GOP over the last few years,” Bolger said.

But while Democrats don’t deny that the White House has provided few specifics on how they plan to transfer the detainees, Democratic leaders still back the idea of closing the facility.

“Personally, I feel pretty good about where we are on the issue,” Reid said. “I think that the vast, vast majority, if not every Democratic senator feels the same way and many Republicans feel the same way.”

What about military prisons? These suspects were "captured" during military actions weren't they? And any state with a military base that has a military prison and plays the NIMBY game must not be patriotic, right? Man, fear has taken over a lot of Americans. And as far as I've heard, the detainees, or more properly prisoners, are suspects, not convicted terrorists. Remember, we began with over 700 prisoners and have released around 500 after holding them without charges and without trial. They wouldn't have been released, by the Bush administration no less, if they were really terrorists now would they?

Chickenhawks are chickensh!t.

Sg

Been watching the deadliest catch. Good show. I'm sure they could use some crab bait.

BTW,

We didn't release POW's until after the war. Hold them until the war is over.

"Ya know the more I watch the more concerned I become."

Felt that way for eight years.

"The Democratic doubts on Guantanamo come as Republicans have decided to run with a strategy of stoking parochial fears about terrorists being transferred to people’s home towns."

There's that party we all know.

Bottom line it's refreshing to see we aren't rushing into anything without open debate first. Sounds like we elected the right people.

If they sell San Quentin to us I vote to immediately release all inmates as long as they stay within California's borders.

"lack of planning for how to shutter the prison and how to handle the detainees."

There's that other party we all know.

I agree that debate will be refreshing but it should have happened prior to deciding to shut the place down. Debate, then decide. Not the other way around.

I agree that we can handle them in the U.S. if needed and it is sad to see Rep using it as a pol football. Bottom line is....if we can handle the Bundy's, Dahmers, Manson's, Green rivers of our own country, we can handle a few jihadists. About time we find some pols in this country that stand up for what is right and quit trying to score pol points with every little issue. Rep and dems.

Ya know the democrats have an overwhelming majority. How is it that you blame the republicans for this when the democrats have all the cards!!!

The "blame the republican", "blame Bush" game isn't holding water like it did a few months ago. Especially since Obama is vindicating many of the Bush policies regarding the war on terror.

Vic... the reason we blame Bush and the Republicans for this country's HUGE mess is because it's THEIR FAULT!!!

Why can't you right-wingers EVER accept responsibility for your party's actions? I thought conservatives were all about responsibility?

As far as the detainees go... who actually thinks they'd even be alive very long if they were thrown into the prison general population with all of the patriotic murderers, armed robbers and gang members we've got locked up there?

They'd be looked at like child molesters and it would be all over but the cryin'!

WHY are you right-wingers SO AFRAID of them?

Even if they did manage to survive being cornholed on a daily basis and happened to escape into some rural community... y'all are armed to the teeth! Surely you could take 'em out?

Just like your heroes did before the shock-n-awe show, right? That's what I thought.

Something like 14% of the guys release so far have re-joined the fight that they can document. Not so happy about releasing any of these tards. It would be like the US releasing German prisoners of war during the war.

Of the 1 in 7 who was released joined up with Al Qaeda or the Taliban, I wonder how many were never terrorists to begin with, but after being waterboarded for 14 months signed up as soon as they could?

That would be an interesting thing to know.

Fish on...

Todd

So its Bush's fault that Obama doesn't have a plan to close Guitmo? That is the context of this conversation, and the point I was making regarding docspud's post. And it was the Democrats that overwhelmingly refused to fund the closing of Guitmo stating that Obama doesn't have an adequate plan! If the Democrats really wanted to do it, they wouldn't even need the Republicans, they have the overwhelming majority. So no, the "blame the Republicans" argument doesn't really hold water in this context.

While we are at it Obama doesn't have a plan to reduce the cost of health care either, he says he is gonna do it. He has a bunch of people excited about it but nothing on paper that we can see, or even debate. All he has is a verbal commitment from a bunch of people in the health care industry, who when the time comes to take the hit will say "well I thought you were talkin about the other guy".

I don't remember saying that I am afraid of the detainees being placed in US prisons. Perhaps you are right,,, maybe some skinhead will shank them in the shower. Who knows! Then again, maybe they will join the Nation of Islam members that have a strong presence in our prisons and become some sort of heroes with those whack jobs! Pretty hard to say isn't it.

Vic, I think the point is that without BushCorp.'s excellent work, we wouldn't be in this mess at all to begin with.

Fish on...

Todd

I thought we were through looking at the past and forging a future? Oh that's right,,, The Dems have a free pass any time they bring up the past. "Its Bush's fault!" "The CIA lied"

It stops being Bush's fault when it stops being Clinton's fault.

It will never be anything but Bush's war...ever...no matter who comes after to try and clean up the mess.

Fish on...

Todd

i like the crab bait idea....

there sure are a bunch of bitter libs out today

That was dirty, Dan.

Hank - Let's say you took a chest X-Ray of a guy with suspected lung cancer. Let's say for the sake of argument that you are an inept X-Ray technician. Let's say that because you failed to take a proper chest film... 6 years later the guy dies of mesothelieoma. At this point though... you're not the X-Ray tech anymore. Should your replacement be blamed for the guys death? After all... he's runnin the show now?

Own up man! Show some of that personal responsibility that the right is always harpin' about.

If Obama gets us into another war... and finishes the job of destroying this country that Bushco and the Republicans started... I'll be the FIRST to step up and blast him for it.

The fact of the matter here is,,, there is a perceived problem. Many think that something needs to be done about holding detainees at Guitmo. At this point, how the problem was created is irrelevant. The solution should be what matters. President Obama said he was going to "fix" that problem but he doesn't have a "fix" for that problem and his own party won't support him. So,,, what the hell does Bush have to do with this topic? The issue here is that Obama spews out all this warm fuzzy crap, with absolutely no f in clue how to bring said crap to fruition!

I believe the title of this thread is "Big feel good talk, no plan"