New Group Whacks Congress For Gitmo Failure

A coalition of retired generals and progressive groups and individuals released an ad on Tuesday imploring Congress to act on President Obama's call for the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison.

The spot, paid for by the liberal-leaning New Security Action, insists that a dark cloud will hang over the nation's capital so long as Gitmo -- a symbol of indefinite detention and torture -- remains open. To push the point, the ad frames the detention facility as one of the few remaining relics of the Bush years.

"A dark cloud is hanging over it," the ad reads, as a shot of the Capitol building becomes shaded out. "Guantanamo prison and the torture committed there. President Obama said we should close it. Colin Powell agrees. But Congress stands in the way, continuing to follow the failed Bush-Cheney policies. Tell Congress to lift the cloud."

The spot, which is being pitched by a group of retired generals as well as organizations like VoteVets' and for U.S. Congressmen Tom Andrews (D-ME), will air on national television starting this week.

Whether it can help compel an obstinate Congress to act on Obama's plea to close Gitmo remains to be seen. The White House has all but conceded that its time frame for shutting down the detention facility will be missed, primarily because many within the president's own party are wary of transferring inmates to domestic locations.

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Comments

[PuffDragon]

Good job.

Former Generals and progressives still care about America as a democracy that follows laws.
Too bad the Rush, Hannity and their Republicans aren't on board with that agenda.

America has some huge house-keeping projects:
- Close Guantanamo and make reparations for the torture committed there and in Iraq.
- Bring the war criminals who planned these crimes to justice.
- Ratify the World Court Treaty in the US
- Actually investigate the 9/11 attacks, because the "official story" is demonstrably nonsense. (the 9/11 Commission report is a laughing stock around the world, but American media won't report it)
- Actually investigate the anthrax attacks and find out who in the US Government claimed that Iraq was responsible, despite the weapons-grade anthrax origins in US Army laboratories.

[kid5rivers2]

Who or what is/are "New Security Action"?

[sviolette]

Google it.

[littleblackcat]

I have long ago conceded my ignorance in assuming anyone elected to the Senate or to Congress was an intelligent, informed person. One need only to look at mitch mcconnell, Ben Nelson, de mint, vitter, anything named bush, just to name a few, to see the error of that thought.
That said, it still boggles my mind to read that we have those supposed to be SUPPORTING the President since they are members of his party, who are wringing their hands about moving a few dozen prisoners to our maximum security prisons here in the states! When are politicians going to get their heads unwedged and step into the real world? What on earth do they think the term MAXIMUM SECURITY means?
I can give them a hint: it means a place where very bad apples are put to rot in confinement that will not allow them to hasten the spoilage of other bad apples.

[PuffDragon]

Yes, maximum security has proven itself as secure for the most hardened criminals.

We need to remember that many - if not all - of those imprisoned in Guantanamo have no criminal record, and could be completely innocent; their lives ruined for the political convenience of the Bush Administration.

[bluestems]

Obama signed an order stating the closure should happen "within one year". I'm not sure why people are upset that it wasn't closed immediately, but it takes some time to work out the details, doesn't it?

[VTya]

Congress .... America would be better off without it!!!

[RTIII]

Democracy - the very worst form of government ... excepting, of course, all the others.
.

[sviolette]

No not really. It takes time for the do nothing congress to do absolutely nothing. That's the problem here.

[Smithn]

FearMongering -- Here's an excert from Michigan Coalition to Stop Gitmo North:
"...Keynote speakers at Rochester Hills High School were Retired Army Lt Col. Gordon Cucullu and former Department of Defense terrorism analyst Peter Leitner.
"These people proposed to come to the U.S. are the rock stars of international terrorism," Leitner said.
Experts fear moving detainees to the mainland would only cause more harm than good. Leonard resident Ken Valente agrees.
"I've got a cottage in Northern Michigan," he said. "I just don't want to spoil that in any way by having these terrorists move into Michigan."
City officials in Standish have supported the idea of moving detainees to the state prison to help stabilize the economy..."
When did the U S of A become a country of wusses -- we can't create appropriate prinsons anymoe. Jeeeezzzzz! Let's suck it up and get onn it with it or admit is Obama obstructionism, plain & simple!

[AAKAlan]

It boggles the mind:

"I live in a hunting shack in the Michigan woods, and I'm terrified that Sheikh Muhammed Kahlid will escape from maximum security, buy a nuke in downtown detroit, come to my cabin and nuke me and my hunting dog"

What these idiots don't realize is that we're already successfully holding convicted terroritsts in American prisons, including those who did the first World Trade Center bombing.

I didn't hear of any of the neighbors of those prisons being nuked or having planes flown into their livingrooms.

The perpetrators we need to try and then incarcerate are mostly the "brains" behind 9/11, not 20-year-olds running around with AK47s. All they do is plot, which they can do from anywhere in the world. The real problem is not keeping them behind bars, but keeping them from communicating, which is exactly what we did with those convicted in the first WTC bombing.

I find it astonishing that our people and our Congress are such cowards that they're willing to suspend the Constitution rather than convict and incarcerate the suspects.

Even worse, they want to continue to hold those already proven and acknowledged to be innocent.

Shame on us.

[nellie]

Good.

[Smithn]

Please correct me if I'm wrong; but, would this even be a problem if Senators had not gone about fear mongering the idea in their own states. I don't remember the names (FL, KS, MI? ? ?). I'll take a wild guess that they're GOP and did it as an obstructionist move on Obama.

[vlm1948]

You are right about the ones in Kansas, Roberts and Brownback, they opposed it vehemently, both are sorry losers but they just keep getting elected. Brownback is running for Governor, Tiahrt and Moran are running for his seat. Two more loser Republicans.

[sc300nc]

Is it the fault of congress or the fault of a president who doesn't have enough leadership ability to sell his programs to HIS OWN PARTY!!!!!

[Smithn]

It's not the Democrats stoping it. In Michigan alone the Republicans are openly taking your donations, forming coalialitions to fight allowing the prisoners ANYWHERE in the US. Yet, again, rather than doing something constructive they reconfirm they are the party of obstruction & destruction. Now be sure to go turn on FOX for your ideas and send the GOP some great big gobs of money.

[sc300nc]

Stop making excuses. The DEMS have the majority in both houses, yet they continually blame the republicans. Get a spine Democrats or get the heck out of the way.

[EdA]

So much for "land of the free/home of the brave." Both Democratic and Republican congresspeople are so terrified that maximum security prisons on the mainland cannot hold these people who have not been convicted yet of anything and that they (the prisoners, not the congresspeople) may indoctrinate prison guards with strange conspiracy ideas.

Sheesh.

[sc300nc]

You nominating your state and your community to take them all? Works for me.

[eXcommunicate]

I'm in Indiana and I'd have no compunction taking these prisoners. You think if they escaped they'd go around blowing up buildings?

[shryock]

so, sc300nc, who are the judge and jury who convicted any of the guantanimo prisoners?
what exactly are they guilty of?
are you so terrified of them that you believe they deserve to rot in jail rather than face trial?
since when is that an american ideal?

if the prisoners are guilty of terrible crimes, let those crimes be proven in a court of law.
then if they are convicted, let them go to maximum security prisons just like other criminals convicted of terrible crimes.

i suspect that the states that are raising such a furor over the so called terrorists in guantanimo are really afraid of facing up to the idea that some of those prisoners might be innocent.
then we as a nation would have to face the fact that we are politically worse than peru.

[1dogs2]

I live in Illinois and it's okay with me if they are sent here. But then, I don't suffer from irrational fear.

[LHibbard]

Let's put our feet to the fire on this. Gitmo has to be closed. If no one is willing to host the detainees, then give them an ultimatum: Host the prisoners and hold trials within six months, or send them back to their homelands. Let's take some responsibility in this matter.

[crazylady]

If a tent in the desert is good enough for our troops, why not house them in a supermax tent prison out in Death Valley. Three hots and a cot.

No shirt, no shoes, no problem.

[Smithn]

Yes! AZ Sheriff Arpaio sp?) He's just down & dirty enough to take it on & revel in it! Also, Arizona is desperate for new jobs, like every other state.

[cecebo]

You are forgetting that over half of these people did nothing wrong except cross paths with the many bounty hunters we created in the desert by offering money to desperately poor people for anyone who might be a terrorist (or did not look white). Many were extradited to prison because they did not have translators who could convince camp commanders that they were not terrorists. Imagine if you or a son or daughter were going to town to pick up coffee and rice and never came home becasue some bounty hunter saw $10k walking on the road to town. This is what happened to many of these prisoners, innocent people losing a decade of their life with no day in court. They deserve no punishment, but the Americans who created this tragedy do....

[balloonloon]

Call me wacky, but I think a viable solution to the Gitmo problem
lies in the golden state--where (Repug) Governator Arnold has tabled
the idea of selling San Quentin State Prison (unlocking some of
California's hidden or under valued assets to raise much needed
cash for budget shortfalls).

So before he sells the 'joint' let's propose shipping all the Gitmo detainees
to the Bay Area big house--I understand the peek-a-boo view of the San Francisco
Bay from some cell blocks is breathtaking. And when was the last time an inmate
escaped from the prison?

Sure, it's a prime piece of real estate and would make a fantastic place for
luxury condos--but wouldn't housing the detainees truly be putting the prison
to it's highest and best use (we are after all -- in a down real estate market).

What a boon it would be to California tourism. Why they could even update the
state license plate slogan to, 'The Golden Gitmo State'.

I'm just sayin'.

[lungfish]

Do you know that a majority of the people in Gitmo are not guilty of anything other than being fingered by others under torture?Do you realize that we have been sending those inmate home or to third party nations since their reputations after being falsely accused would lead to persecution? Do you know that the majority of them have not had even the most basic legal rights to defend or protect themselves as they were held under military high security and interrogated?

And you want to transfer THAT here?

To be sure, there are some bad apples in the bunch but either we follow US law or we don't and confessions made under torture do not stand up to the law. Even Kalid Sheik Muhomed has a legitimate argument in US law that his case has been tainted by torture, etc... This is a huge legal nightmare that Cheney and co created specifically to try and circumvent US law and that is the mess that has been left to Obama and Congress. How do you legally deal with a situation that is so legally tainted as to be nearly impossible to meet legal standards for trial?

[sc300nc]

When did you decide that these killers and murderers had US rights?

[Maka]

The Dems in Congress need to suck it up and get Gitmo closed already. It's ridiculous to think military prisons that are in our country can't handle high profile terror suspects. And the idea that bringing them here will somehow make us less safe, is silliness. Keeping them imprisoned indefinitely without legal recourse doesn't warm anyone's feelings towards us. Just the opposite! It nurtures anti-American sentiment.

[cecebo]

Amen.

[eXcommunicate]

Faved.

[karela]

I wanted to sign the open letter to close Guantanamo now, but Google says the site isn't available any longer and the article offers no link. The ad would do a whole lot more good if people could send new responses to it. A few months ago Congress was rabid about fighting the President because they got too much mail from frightened people. The environment is shifting lately as fewer people are willing to be scared stupid anymore. This could be a good time to hit this again. We need a link and we should all be contacting Senate and House offices with email, snail mail and phone calls. Let's get the most mileage possible out of the ad money.

HUFF PO-----WE NEED A LINK TO SIGN THE PETITION LETTER RELATED TO THIS STORY.

[Rhymenoceros]

It works: http://closegitmonow.org/page/speakout/closegitmonow

[cecebo]

Thanks, it worked for me.

[ETSpoon]

Not only should the prison...or "detention center"...at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base be closed but, in a gesture of reconciliation and normalization, the entire facility must be turned over to the Cuban government.

The United States Navy has squatted on that spot since 1898.

It's time to leave.

[Philclock]

Not by this cat.

[ETSpoon]

Do you live at the Guantanamo Naval Base?

Or just one of the Fightin' GOP Keyboarders?