Wait a minute. Didn't President Obama order the closure of the terrorist suspect detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba? Yes he did, but Congress just won't let it happen, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
On January 22, 2009, his second full day in office, President Obama ordered the Department of Defense to "promptly" close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, "in order to effect the appropriate disposition" of persons being held there. However, he failed to specify that potential locations for the "appropriate disposition" of the detainees did not include the United States of America.
As a result, the Democrat-controlled 111th Congress has resisted Obama by passing at least six pieces of legislation containing provisions intended to keep the terror detainees locked up at Guantanamo Bay, rather than being transferred or released in the United States.
According to the CRS report, Guantanamo Detention Center: Legislative Activity in the 111th Congress, the bills contained measures restricting the use or availability of federal money to move the detainees into the United States.
"Prompted in part by proposals to close the detention facility or transfer detainees to the United States, the continued detention of alleged enemy combatants at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been a subject of considerable interest during the 111th Congress. Six enacted measures contain provisions that directly restrict the transfer or release of Guantanamo detainees, particularly into the United States."
In addition, states the report, several bills now pending in Congress -- including appropriations and authorization measures - would extend and even expand those restrictions.
According to the report, 174 detainees were still being held at Guantanamo Bay on November 4, 2010, as the U.S. faces continuing problems in dealing with detainees no longer considered enemy combatants. Either no other countries will accept them, or because they could face torture if transferred to certain other countries.
While President Obama's January 22, 2010 deadline for the closure of the Guantanamo detention facility has long since passed, administration officials have stated that Obama remains determined to have the facility closed as soon as possible. In addition, military commission hearings for those Guantanamo detainees charged with war crimes have resumed.
It might also be of some comfort to note that Section 552 of the FY2010 Department of Homeland Security Act requires that all former Guantanamo detainees be included on the "No Fly List" and restricts their access to U.S. federal immigration benefits.
Photo: Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay Remains Open -- John Moore/Getty Images
Also See:
Senate Rejects Funds to Close Guantanamo Bay Prison
No Uighurs Next Door, Lawmaker Says
Obama Drops 'Enemy Combatant' Definition
Comments