Having decided to close the detention complex at Guantanamo, the administration now faces the important question of what to do with detainees too dangerous to release and against whom no legal case can be made, either for exigencies of the battlefield – combat troops don’t Mirandize their prisoners – or national security reasons:
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates suggested on Thursday that as many as 100 detainees at the prison at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba would end up held without trial on American soil, a scenario he acknowledged would create widespread if not unanimous opposition in Congress.
The estimate from Mr. Gates was the most specific yet from the Obama administration about how many of the 241 prisoners now at Guantanamo could not be safely released, sent to other countries or appropriately tried in American courts. In January President Obama ordered the prison closed by the end of year, but his administration is still working on what to do with the detainees…
At a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Mr. Gates said that he has asked for $50 million in a supplemental request to this year’s Pentagon budget in case a new cell block needs to be built quickly for the detainees. But he acknowledged that the idea of relocating Guantanamo detainees to American soil has few champions in Congress.
“I fully expect to have 535 pieces of legislation before this is over saying ‘not in my district, not in my state,’ “ Mr. Gates said. “We’ll just have to deal with that when the time comes.”
Suck it up, states. This makes us look good in Paris.
Well,
If we can’t put them in Gitmo, perhaps Guam? American Samoa? Rosie Roads? What about that island off Puerto Rico we used to use as a live ordnance range? How about that underground nuclear waste storage facility in Yucca Mountain? Maybe Area 51?
I got it! We’ll put them in large suitcases, give ‘em to the airlines, and no one will ever see them again!
Okay, so maybe not the airlines. How’s about we berth them in the next Tico we plan to make a reef out of?
The way I see it the new administration has just reinvented the wheel and made it worse.
These people ended up at gitmo because the previous admin. couldn’t find a good place to put them. The didn’t want them in the CONUS, they didn’t want them in Astan ot Iraq. There were no good options. Gitmo was the best of the bad options.
Now, here we go again. Now that we have announced the closure of the wicked gitmo, the original question arises: where DO we put these people?
Best and brightest my ass.
AW1Tim/
Yours is the first sensible analysis of the situation I’ve read yet…..on second thought, no, it isn’t. We’ve visited this topic before if memory serves correctly; in which your then proffered idea of letting the word out that they all had cooperated and returning them to their home societies to be killed as informers was voted the most inventively fiendish; while my suggestion for deposition on Kodiak Island for sport for the Bears (along with strategically placed CCTV cameras beamed to a world-wide audience) voted the most entertaining.
(Once in a while my Alzheimer’s quits working and things come back to me “as if emerging from a fog”…
)
I have that same problem when I start to sober up…
What did the poor bears do to you to deserve that?
SCOTTtheBADGER/
If you’re worried about subjecting the poor bears to such abuse, you may be right–too much resultant indigestion would probably get me arrested for cruelty to animals. But fear not, I haven’t given up on the island bit. Remember the 2007 movie “Condemned” with Vinne Jones and the WWE ‘rassler “Stone Cold Steve Austin” in which they and an assortment of other criminal types ( although Steve is secret ex-CIA type hero) are dropped on a similar CCTV equipped island for a world-wide televised death match survivor series type deal?
Perhaps we could arrange for a “Condemned II,” only shot this time with the Gitmo alumns as the stars. Last man standing gets a fat contract to play the lead in “Condemned III” sequel. And on and on, etc. How many “Nightmare on Elm Streets ” have there been now? Aren’t we working on the 8th “Jason” sequel? Got to be 5 0r 6 “Halloweens.” America LOVES sequels. What with a new source in the Somali Pirates and others sure to come along, we could keep the “Condemned” franchise going for years…
From the cited article:
So the most vile of the vile, whom we can’t release, yet can’t try in a court of law, are somehow creating concern with “due process” by the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the country?
I’m obviously not an attorney – I work for a living (sorry couldn’t help it – my apologies to all members in good standing of the Bar who frequent here) – but aren’t concerns about “due process” under our laws a protection afforded citizens of our land and not “alleged man-made disaster creators” or whatever it is we’ve now decided to call these maggots?
“Due process” and Eric Holder don’t belong in the same sentence. This is the guy whose idea of vetting applications for pardons by the Clintons amounted to “whatever you want Bill, so long as I get to be Algore’s AG”. Holder is a slime for allowing any number of the Clinton pardons to get off his desk.
Dump them on Eniwetok without guards or any form of restriction. Resupply the place from 20000 yards using some old battleship with shells modified to fire pork and beans warheads.
Put up signs all over the southern parishes of Louisiana: “Hunting restrictions on former Al-queda terrorists; only one per year, they’re a bit tough and stringy, but go down good with Jax beer and McIlleny’s tabasco sauce”. Let ‘em loose somewhere south of New Iberia.
You’ll never hear from them again
Yeah, Byron, either Alphonse and Etienne
will have ‘em for lunch (probably preferable to nutria and easier to catch) or the Gators’ll get ‘em. That, or the occasional Louisiana black bear stumbling by (as you can see I LIKE Bears–at least for THIS application.)
I wonder how you say “GITMO Transfers” in Pashtun…….
We are so very, very dumb. I mean terminally dumb. People who make these decisions should not be allowed to vote or reproduce. End rant!
Perhaps a ship could be chartered to sail eternally in international waters periodically allowing a SeaKnight to land with court documents? USNS Gitmo Princess?
That really IS against international law.
That Obama’s AG would seek freedom, at any cost, for Gitmo detainees shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone with even a full nit of wit. His former law firm has a long track record of representing these terrorists. In fact, they are quite proud of their work.
SCOTT/
Re your link: Classic, “Why, isn’t that just special!” Church Lady time.
Didn’t Jack Murtha already volunteer to host them in his district? Maybe THAT’s why he had that airport built, and all those defense contracts let for his district. He’s been planning this all along.
And, as I’ve said before, if there’s any Justice left in the Justice Dept, he’ll be the first occupant of the Jack Murtha Federal Hosting Facility for Wayward Congressmen and Man-Caused Disaster Makers. Penitentiary being too traumatizing, don’t you know.
Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. Asuncion (or Ascuncion) is the third northernmost independent island in the Northern Mariana Islands chain at 19°43′N 145°41′E / 19.717°N 145.683°E / 19.717; 145.683.
It is located in the far northern part of the Mariana arc of volcanic islands, situated 101 km northwest of Agrihan and 37 km southeast of the Maug Islands; the island of Pagan lies 175 km to the southwest. It is a stratovolcano, 857m at the tallest point, and has a land area of 7.31 km² (2.82 sq mi). Most coastlines are rocky or clifflike. There are a number of deep ravines breaking up the slopes. Administratively it is a part of the Northern Islands Municipality.
The island is heavily vegetated with coconut palm plantations and broadleaf forests. The ravines are also heavily vegetated with other woody species. The island is uninhabited.
Build a nice supermax prison from the prints of the ones the Federal Prison Bureau Guards determine to be the best design for guard safety and convenience. Solitary confinement except at meals contingent on good behavior. Access to library books and magazines, reading room 2 hours a day for cooperative prisoners up to 5 prisoners at a time. Refreshments provided, tastefully decorated. 100% video and audio of prisoners 24/7, monitoring and archiving in independant chain of command from prison staff. Not admissable in court for purpose of prosecution of prisoners under surveillance,, fully admissable and searchable by CIA,
DIA, FBI, prison staff for disciplinary proceeding wrt prisoner behavior otherwise.
Add a heliport, a one star hotel for visiting family, press and lawyers and an administration building. Add 3 judges and staff from the federal district court in Honolulu.
Ditto for federal prosecutor Honolulu, Public Defenders Office Honolulu.
Resupply once a week. Pay rent for the island to the Goverment of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. Very Generous Rent..
Press access for 1000 bucks per man per day plus hotel and meals, bar tab in hotel, equipment inspection and tariff = 200% of original value. 50 bucks per mile per hundred weight for use of govt aircraft from Saipan, no other access. No interviews, full access to open court proceedings.
Automatic appeal to US District Court in Virginia.
Pay a 100% hardship bonus to all staff, judges and prosecutors, 4 year contract, free airfare and return, lodging and car rental to any destination in USA two weeks a quarter. Housing, commisary, clinic, school, recreation program on island for staff and govt employees, off limits to press, defense. Court work week 4 12 hour days.
Let the wheels of justice grind fine.
If you add some cloned dinosaurs, it would be perfect. Could also be used to house convicted members of congress.
Weather’s too nice there. I’m thinking more like Adak for the prisoners with the admin and lawyers types in Asuncion. Make it mandatory that any appeal has to go thru Asuncion, but the prisoners have to arrange and pay for transport from Adak to Asuncion. Time off your sentence could be earned by completing one entire crab fishing season, and it would be worth one month off. Crew of the crab boat keeps the pay. If the prisoners screw up, the crabs keep them.