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Thursday, July 17, 2008
Matt Purple :: Townhall.com Columnist
Senators Call for the Closing of Guantanamo
by Matt Purple
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The Guantanamo Bay detainee prison in Cuba seems to have few fans among Senate lawmakers these days.

Several senators spoke out against Guantanamo at a Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, calling for the facility to be shut down and assailing the Bush administration’s policy on prisoners of war.

“We cannot defeat terrorism by abandoning our basic American principles and values,” said Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). “With the pictures from Abu Ghraib and tales of unjustified detentions and torture, we have provided our enemies with a recruiting field day.”

“Adopting a detainee policy that reflects our values would mean closing Guantanamo, giving detainees due process and releasing those who should never have been there in a timely and responsible manner,” he added.

Leahy claimed that between one-half and one-third of the Guantanamo prisoners had no connection to terrorism, citing the journalist Jane Mayer as his source.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) worried that Guantanamo would haunt the United States’ international reputation for the foreseeable future.

“I’m a fisherman and there are some problems that are very difficult to unsnarl. You can spend hours trying to undo a knot in your line that took thirty seconds to make. I think that Guantanamo is going to be very difficult to unsnarl,” he said.

Criticism of Guantanamo mounted in 2006 when three of its detainees committed suicide and several military lawyers testified before Congress that interrogation techniques had been used that violated the guidelines in the Army field manual. Gradually, more and more senators have stepped forward to suggest shutting down the facility altogether.

And Gitmo’s detractors are not all Democrats. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) said that alleged detainee abuses have tarred America’s reputation. Continued...
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About The Author
Matt Purple is an editorial intern with Townhall.com and is studying politics at Catholic University.

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Reply # 1
Date: Jul 18, 2008 - 3:29 PM EST
Put U.S.Traitors in Gitmo
Since the Congress is doing more harm to the country currently, why do we not replace the Terrorists and Terrorist Suspects with our Senators and Congressmen, who openly perpetrate treasonous acts and statements on a daily basis. The Obstructionists in The U.S. Congress are doing much more harm to this country than any terrorists have to date, save for the Twin Towers fiasco, which, by the way, Congress was responsible for that as well, indirectly. How, you might ask?? Well, when Congress Began Making Laws that basically Dismantled The Best Military Force Ever Assembled, beginning in the 1970's, they put us in a position, as a Nation, that we cannot properly defend ourselves. Before the Dismantling of the Military, we had a Readiness Capability with Aircraft and Personnel standing by on alert 24-7 in strategic places all over the Continent. The Air Defense Command, had they still have been standing ready, with Jet Engines Running With Alert Pilots Standing by, would have had these airliners surrounded in a matter of a few minutes, and had the Pilots or others controlling those airliners, not responded to Demands to Change Course and Land Immediately, they would have been shot down before being allowed to enter the Air Space they were in when they hit Manhattan or the Pentagon. You see, Cutting The military, and using the Money For More Worthless Government Give Away Programs, is a Recipe For Disaster. And 9/11 was a disaster. It should have been a wake up call. Not only to Fight Terrorism, but also, To End The Worthless Bureaucracies that Have Been Created with the Money They, the Socialist Democrats, took Away From A True Government Function, Which Is National Defense. The Government's Responsibility Is Not To Create And Fund A Welfare State. All the Bureaucracy In D.C. is being Funded By Monies That Should Be Spent On National Defense, A Standing Army, Border and Port Security, and Infrastructure. These are the Real Concerns for Government.
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Reply # 2
Date: Jul 18, 2008 - 2:48 PM EST
Senators--Know Nothings
These Know-Nothing, Do-Nothing, Senator and Congressmen/women are doing nothing more than Bashing the President because he is a sitting Republican President and are trying to con the rest of us out here to Vote Obama, so that they, The Socialist Democrats, Control The Presidency, the Congress, and if elected, Obama could appoint some more Un-American Atheist Socialist Judges. Then, they, the Socialist Atheists would have Complete Control of All Three Branches. They already Have Control of The Media, who is their Official Cheerleaders.

What Americans had better start thinking about is this. Who are These Socialists Beholden to. It is certainly not us Mere Working Class Americans who are out here everyday working and making this Great Country Work. No, the Average American citizen has ZERO Representation at any level of government.

But you Socialists, and wanna be Socialists, had better wake up, You Cannot Run A Country without a Tax Base. Welfare Recipients Do Not Pay Taxes, and In Fact, get IRS refunds and Stimulus packs without even working. What a country. But, if the Socialists get their way, we would all be On The Dole, and thus, there would be no Tax Base. The Communists in Russia had a Revolution in 1917, and tried this. They lived off the Excesses they Stole from The Producers of Russia for a while, but that soon ran out. If Obama and the Socialists are given the chance To Steal From The Rich and Give More Welfare, which Is What Obama is Promising, Where Will Obama get the money to Fund His Give Away Programs then? Welfare recipients contribute nothing but more victims to live off the government, and Of Course, They Get To Vote For Obama and others Who Promise To Give Them more For Nothing. What A Country????

The Soviet Union Went Bankrupt and Collapsed. We are close to it. Don't allow Obama and a Socialist Congress take us over the edge.
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