Guest Blogger: Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FL) on the Tenuous Future of Gitmo

Rep. Tom Rooney / July 06, 2009

After taking office earlier this year, President Obama issued an executive order to close the detention facilities by the end of the year, without a plan for the relocation of over 200 detainees currently housed at the base. One option that I do not support is bringing the detainees here to the States for trial and placing them in our federal prisons. Many of the detainees pose a serious threat to our national security. The Pentagon just released a report stating that one in seven of the detainees that have been released from Guantanamo have reverted back to terrorism or militant activity. This is a staggering statistic and a chance we cannot afford to take. It is completely unacceptable to move these dangerous individuals to our federal prisons where they will be integrated with other prisoners.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to tour the detention facilities and talk with the troops working on the base. Make no mistake; the soldiers operating the base are doing an outstanding job. Despite what you may hear from media reports, the detention facilities at the base are similar to those of maximum security prisons here in the states. (more…)