Intel Dem: Fix Gitmo — don't close it

[BlueJessamine]

Source: The Hill

A key House Democrat on intelligence matters believes that Guantanamo Bay doesn't need to be closed, but rather, needs to be fixed.

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he is planning legislation that would order the facility to be kept open, while assuring the world that torture and mistreatment of detainees has ended.

“What's needed at Guantanamo Bay is transparency and accountability,” Hastings said. “You go back and change the bad things and turn the page.”

Hastings said a colleague dubbed his plan “Guantanamo 2.0." Still in the draft stage, it would assure access to the prison by the United States's Western allies and watchdog groups like Amnesty International and the Red Cross. Add that to President Obama's decision to end "enhanced interrogation," and there isn't a need to close the detention facility, Hastings said.


Read more: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/intell-dem-fix-gitmo-dont-close-it-2009-05-21.html