Political Quotes

“I have two amendments. The first strikes section 527; the second strikes section 528. I had to put them in as two separate amendments because only one amendment pends at a time, but they are really together. Sections 527 and 528, which my amendment would strike, restricts the President's authority to move Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States for trial. Mr. Chairman, simply put, it is time to punish Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. In GTMO, he has not been tried, convicted, or punished. Meanwhile, Federal courts have tried, convicted, and punished more than 400 terrorists. None of them have ever escaped from a U.S. prison. No prison where they are located has ever been subjected to an attack. The only thing my friends who are opposed to closing Guantanamo have on their side is fear. Fear, Mr. Chairman. As they argue against this amendment, they will try to tell us that these men are dangerous and scary, that these men can harm us, that these men are the worst of the worst--and some may be--but these men are already in our custody. Like so many murderers and terrorists already in prison, they have no power over us. They have been shut off from the outside world for more than a decade. If there are terrible people in Guantanamo--and I am not denying that there are--then it is time for them to face the consequences of their actions in a U.S. court. And that is the rub.…”