Still few takers for Gitmo detainees in US

Washington Times:

President Obama isn't finding any takers in the U.S. to house the terrorism detainees now being held at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Mr. Obama is determined to close the facility in January, repeating his pledge in Thursday's speech in Cairo on U.S. relations with the Muslim world. But even in states whose senators say they support closing the prison and bringing the detainees to the United States, local officials are balking.

"The answer to that is no. We are an overcrowded system," said Vermont Corrections Department Commissioner Andrew Pallito. Both of the state's U.S. senators, Democrat Patrick J. Leahy and independent Bernard Sanders, support the idea of shipping some of the suspected terrorists to maximum-security prisons in the United States.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, a Democrat, said bringing detainees to her state was not on the agenda, despite a slew of abandoned prisons. "This is not something that we are pursuing. End of story," said Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Granholm, an ally of Mr. Obama's who made the shortlist for the recent Supreme Court vacancy.

This resistance underscores the difficulty Mr. Obama confronts in keeping his promise to close Guantanamo.

The president already has encountered a revolt on Capitol Hill. Democrats in both the House and Senate balked at his request for $81 million to close the facility, joining Republicans in voting to withhold the money until Mr. Obama says what he would do with the 240 terrorism suspects in Guantanamo.

A Justice Department task force continues to wrestle with where to send detainees - most foreign governments do not want them - and which detainees can be prosecuted in the United States, either in federal courts or in military tribunals. The task force report is due late next month.

Nearly all of the governors' offices contacted by The Washington Times took days or in some cases more than a week to respond to questions about their willingness to take in what have been described as "the most dangerous terrorists in the world."

None answered yes.

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The NY Times reports the same problem in Europe:

European Union interior ministers agreed Thursday to share information on former inmates from the Guantánamo Bay detention center before they were accepted by any of the bloc’s member nations.

Ministers meeting in Luxembourg said the decision was aimed at allaying the security concerns of union members, most of whom have been reluctant to accept any former detainees even though dozens have been cleared for release by United States authorities.

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It is past time for Obama to admit his screw up on Gitmo and back down on closing the facility. Liberals who have been whining about the place need to also admit there is no better alternative and the place is the best facility in the world to hold some of the worst people in the world.

I have always thought Obama's desire to close Gitmo was basically an expensive PR move that made no sense on any other basis. Now it is backfiring as a PR move and it shows the hypocrisy of much of the critics of Gitmo to begin with.

Many of the problems associated with Gitmo revolve around the lawfare agenda of the left that does not comprehend the difference the laws of war make on the holding of enemy combatants who do not qualify for POW status. But moving these guys to the states only exacerbates that problem.

Bin Laden's latest statement about this being a long war are more evidence that Gitmo will be needed for a long time.