Political Quotes

“the Inhofe amendment would, in effect, prevent implementing the President's decision to close Guantanamo and undo the benefits to America's standing that have resulted from President Obama's decision. The Executive order signed by President Obama last month requires Guantanamo be closed within 1 year. The goal of closing Guantanamo has broad support. In this last presidential election, both candidates, then-Senator Obama and Senator McCain, supported closing Guantanamo. Last year, five former Secretaries of State, including Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, and James Baker, called for closing Guantanamo. President Bush has said he would support closing Guantanamo, as did his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. No one says that closing Guantanamo will be easy. To achieve this, the Executive order signed by President Obama sets up a Special Task Force to review the status of the approximately 250 detainees still held at Guantanamo and make recommendations on what to do with these individuals. Currently about one-third of the Guantanamo detainees have been cleared for release or transfer to a third country. The State Department is in the process of trying to find countries willing to take these detainees, where they will not be subjected to torture or persecution. For about another third of the Guantanamo detainees, the Defense Department has declared its intention to bring criminal charges and try these individuals.”