Close Gitmo

[babylonsister]

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/1058383.html

Close Gitmo

OUR OPINION: Fear-mongering, politics hinder president's proposed closure


Democrats in Congress have spent years condemning the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. Now that they have a president who wants to close it, they've apparently developed a case of weak knees and second thoughts.

In June 2007, when the White House had a different occupant, more than 140 House Democrats signed a letter to President Bush calling for the facility's closure. They didn't mince words. ''Do I think it should be closed? Damn right I do,'' said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., the powerful chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Now President Obama says he's determined to close the prison by January 2010, but his allies in Congress are singing a different tune. When the House passed a war-funding bill last week, Democrats led by Mr. Obey eliminated money to close Guantánamo.

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While the controversy over Guantánamo has flared, the government has successfully prosecuted a number of terrorists on U.S. soil, including Zacarias Moussaoui and ''shoe bomber'' Richard Reid. To suggest that Guantánamo suspects are too dangerous to be tried in U.S. courts makes them out to be larger than they are. Tonight, President Obama is scheduled to give a major address outlining his plans for the island prison in more detail.

Along with the approval of new military commission rules issued last week, his plan should reassure the public and nervous politicians on Capitol Hill.

The administration is moving carefully to create a credible judicial framework that meets accepted standards of justice and also protects the American homeland.

Lawmakers should quit playing politics with this issue and make the choice to close a prison that has become an ugly symbol of everything that that went wrong with the war on terror.