Thursday, January 22, 2009

Bond Blasts Obama's Gitmo Decision

SKELTON ALSO ISSUES CONCERNS
While Democrats are applauding President Obama's decision to begin closing the Guantanamo prison, Sen. Kit Bond dares California to take the prisoners.
"I can't think of any city or town across this country that will be thrilled to have Khalid Shaikh Mohammed or Abu Zubaydah living down the street," said Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri, referring to the Sept. 11 mastermind and a top al Qaeda operative. "If you really want to bring them back to the United States, people in Missouri and Kansas believe Gitmo is just fine. Folks in San Francisco want it closed. I'd suggest you put them in Alcatraz."

Democratic Representative Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, also said the administration must still determine "how to prosecute known terrorists with the full force of the law so that convictions stick; what to do with other hard-core detainees so that they do not return to the battlefield; and where to place detainees in the short term and the long term."
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Bond scoffed at the idea of releasing the prisoners to other countries, saying other countries have been unwilling to accept detainees. Republicans also claimed that 61 detainees already released have been "found back on the battlefield."

The San Francisco Chronicle also reports Bond said the orders leave Obama the option - and he encouraged him to use it - to secretly allow harsher interrogation techniques by the CIA.

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