House GOP defense bill blocks Guantanamo closing

[Tx4obama]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rebuffing President Barack Obama's latest plea, House Republicans on Monday proposed keeping open the military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by barring the administration from transferring its terror suspects to the United States or a foreign country such as Yemen.

The provisions dealing with the fate of the remaining 166 prisoners are part of a defense policy bill drafted by Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif. The chairman released the bill Monday, two days before Republicans and Democrats on the committee will vote on it.

-snip-

The bill would keep the naval detention center open by prohibiting the Defense Department from spending any money to construct or modify facilities in the United States to house terror suspects from Guantanamo. The restriction would apply from the bill's enactment through 2014.

It also would bar the Pentagon from spending any money to transfer prisoners to the United States or a foreign country. The bill provides a waiver, but the Defense Department would have to make several certifications to Congress.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOP_DEFENSE_BILL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-06-03-14-13-12

[SoapBox]

1. Just keep on spend'n that money!

...they don't want to spend...they do want to spend...they don't want to...etc.

Whiplash.

[cstanleytech]

2. One way Obama could strong arm them is in the next round of base closings thats due in 2015.

He could maybe tell them "Ok, if you want it to remain open then you are going to have to pay for it by closing the following bases......" and make it bases in very red states.

[Xipe Totec]

3. On the other hand, the President does not have to spend money allocated by Congress. So...

Don't spend any pork allocated to red states, until they remove the prohibition to transfer the detainees.

Let's see who blinks first.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. That's a good idea

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. But Obama's Magic Commander-in-Chief Wand??! He can do ANYTHING at ANY TIME, you know?

Let me just repeat "C-in-C" several times! C-in-C! C-in-C!

Now, I think Obama should be 100% on getting the detention center closed, but that means he will have to find creative ways to get around this prohibition. Why not do it with Forestry Service moneys? State? NSA black box cash? Why not just open the gates, let 'em wander into Cuba, let Cuba repatriate them? Any other ideas? Really, though: concrete ideas, not "He's C-in-C, he can do anything" NON-IDEAS.

[kitt6]

6. They are waiting to pick up

where W and Cheney left off. It's called ram this country to serfdom. Dedicated to Grandpa.

[bowens43]

7. A no brainier really.

don't sign any bill into law that has this provision. Will Obama just cave on this again like he always does ?

[customerserviceguy]

8. So, what do you do with terrorists

whose knowledge is a decade out of date?

The only chance President Obama had to close Gitmo was during the first two years of his time in office. Why didn't he? He figured out quickly (once he had the knowledge that a President has) that it was a really, really bad idea. Oh, he knows he has to give a few speeches about it, securely safe that the Republicons in the House will never let him do it, but this is a done deal. Gitmo will never close until the last of them have died off by natural causes. The hunger strikes would help that, but they're force-feeding the terrorists, to give the appearance of "mercy".

Eventually, there will be a Rethuglican president who will give the order to get together a firing squad, the rest of the world will shriek, then wring its hands, and this will be over with.

[DaveJ]

9. I don't understand the confusion.

Why not just do something like given them trials, let them some out on "parole" or whatever the equivalent process is in their countries and then put them back in jail for legitimate reasons if they proceed to commit more crimes? Maybe there's lack of law enforcement infrastructure over there, not quite sure.

[underpants]

10. Because if they were brought here (or even charged) the whole Bush disaster would impossible to hide