President Obama yesterday trained his sights on the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay – reportedly sign ing an executive order mandating a shutdown of the prison within a year and requesting a 120-day suspension on the terrorist trials now under way.
Wise moves?
We think not – but time will tell.
An expeditious shutdown of Gitmo was promised early and often during the Obama campaign – though in recent days both the new president and Attorney General-designate Eric Holder signaled that it might take up to a year to get the job done.
Frankly, Obama should take as long as he feels he needs. An executive order, after all, can be re-written – or even revoked – as the president sees fit.
And it wouldn’t surprise us even a little bit if Obama & Co. decide that keeping the bulk of the 245 detainees remaining at Guantanamo isn’t such a bad idea.
They include 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four accused confederates now on trial at Gitmo.
And even though one of them, Ramzi bin al Shibh, declared Monday, “We’re proud of Sept. 11,” the trial judge yesterday acceded to the Obama request and suspended the trial.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon revealed this week that some 61 former Guantanamo detainees have resumed their terrorist ways since their release.
Meaning that the new administration needs to think long and hard about what should be done about Gitmo.
The facility exists for a reason – keeping dangerous fanatics incarcerated and away from the US mainland.
And the fact that many other governments are in no hurry to repatriate prisoners who are their own citizens simply underscores the problem.
Bottom line: You can’t pick terrorists up if you have no place to put them down.
Keep that in mind, Mr. President.