Europe anxiety attack over taking Gitmo terrorist

NY Time:

European countries that have offered to help the Obama administration close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, by resettling detainees have begun raising questions about the security risks and requirements if they accept prisoners described by the Bush administration as “the worst of the worst,” according to diplomats and other officials on both sides of the Atlantic.

The concerns, and a deep suspicion of whether the American intelligence community will share full information on the prisoners, are likely to complicate the resettlement effort, which is critical to President Obama’s fulfilling his pledge to close Guantánamo within a year.

The offers, from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland and other countries, have been widely seen as efforts to win favor with the new administration by helping to close the camp in Cuba, which was a contentious issue during the Bush years.

Still, with a first round of talks on the Guantánamo issues scheduled for Monday in Washington between Obama administration officials and a high-level delegation from the European Union, several European leaders have recently emphasized that they can make no firm commitments until they are given complete details on the prisoners.

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These guys should do themselves and the world a big favor and admit they were wrong to criticize Gitmo and recommend that the US keep them there until the end of the war if they live that long. Closing Gitmo has been about PR over substance from the beginning. It was the first of many Obama screw ups and its time for him to step back from this one before it is too late.

Mitch McConnell gives good advice on keeping the terrorist at Gitmo.