By Congressman Tom Cole
Even before he was elected President, Barack Obama had advocated the closure of Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. Guantanamo is a U.S. Military Prison which incarcerates terrorists who have either plotted terrorism against the United States, or actually carried it out. To be clear, the inmates of Guantanamo are not men who committed crimes in America, they are men who have committed acts of war against America. They are not entitled to the Constitutional protections that every other American enjoys because they are not citizens of America, they are enemies of America.
Some of the illustrious “residents” of Guantanamo include Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, who is considered to be the architect of the September 11th attacks. Ahmed Umar Abdullah al Hikimi was a body guard for Osama bin Laden. The list could go on and on. Suffice it to say, these are not men who should ever see the other side of the Guantanamo security fence.
Yet President Obama would like to treat these men as though they were common criminals, entitled to their day in court. When an American citizen is accused of a crime they are given the right to an attorney and if they cannot afford an attorney “one will be appointed to you before any questioning if you wish”. Foreign nationals who commit acts of terror against American citizens have no right to the protections that our Constitution provides to our citizens. Rights that American patriots have fought and died for.
President Obama is hell-bent on closing down Guantanamo and relocating the terrorists who are currently held there before his term in office expires. Some he would return to their home countries – countries like Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. This despite the fact that the Obama Administration itself believes at least twelve prisoners of Guantanamo who have been released from Guantanamo have returned to terrorist activities against the U.S. or our allied forces.
Others he would relocate to Federal Prison facilities in the United States. In other words, into our communities. I have tremendous faith in the outstanding professionals who oversee our Federal Bureau of Prisons. Anyone who finds themselves behind the bars of a United States “Super Max” is highly unlikely to ever see the other side of those bars. But I also am deeply concerned about the communities in which these federal facilities are located. By relocating the most dangerous terrorists in the world into American communities, President Obama would put a bullseye on them and their citizens.
Last week the House of Representatives passed legislation that would bar President Obama from releasing any more prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. Unfortunately, this measure is not likely to be passed by the Senate and it has no chance of being signed into law by this president. Americans can only hope that our next Commander-in-Chief shows more concern for the safety and security of our citizens than for the rights of those who wish to destroy us.
