On his second day in office, Barack Obama signed an executive order to close the Guantanamo terrorist prison camp in Cuba and bring some of the most dangerous men in the world to the continental United States.It was an ill-advised move to pander to the far-left, card-carrying ACLU crowd that could care less if American lives are placed in danger.
No so fast, says the U.S. Senate, including most of its Democratic members.
From The Washington Post:
The Senate voted overwhelmingly today to deny funding for President Obama's plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, and lawmakers in both parties vowed to withhold federal dollars until Obama decides the fate of the facility's 240 detainees.South Dakota Sen. John Thune expressed the feeling of many of his Senate colleagues: "The American people don't want these men walking the streets of America's neighborhoods. The American people don't want these detainees held at a military base or federal prison in their backyard, either."
The 90-6 vote represented a potentially serious setback for Obama, who as a presidential candidate vowed to close Guantanamo and who signed an executive order beginning the process soon after he took office. But although most Democrats agree that the facility should be closed, they have grown increasingly wary of the consequences if terrorist suspects are moved to the United States.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller warned Congress today that if Guantanamo detainees are released in the United States, they could pose a domestic threat. Mueller raised the concerns in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee a day after Senate Democrats, under pressure from Republicans, announced they would not release federal funds until Obama produced an acceptable plan.
And this from U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas: "No good purpose is served by allowing known terrorists, who trained at terrorist training camps, to come to the U.S. and live among us. Guantanamo Bay was never meant to be an Ellis Island."
Mueller echoed concerns during his testimony: "The concerns we have about individuals who may support terrorism being in the United States run from concerns about providing financing, radicalizing others," Mueller said, as well as "the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the United States."
Read the full story at washingtonpost.com
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
