Inhofe Blasts GITMO Plans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, made the following statement concerning the Obama Administration’s announcement to transfer GITMO detainees to a prison facility near Chicago.

“President Obama continues to demonstrate his obsession with closing GITMO to keep his campaign promise to his extreme left base.  While the treatment of detainees has been an issue at other facilities, there has never been a documented case of torture at GITMO.  Creating GITMO North in Thomson, Illinois will do nothing except create unnecessary National Security risks.  Congress and the American people have clearly shown that they do not support transferring detainees to the United States.

“While the administration’s letter on this subject indicates that the ‘President has no intention of releasing any detainees in the United States’, too often, intentions and realities are not the same.  Once those detainees are transferred to U.S. soil, they will be granted additional Constitutional rights reserved for U.S. citizens.  As required by law, prior to detainee transfer, the administration must provide a plan that includes an assessment of risk, plan to mitigate those risks, proposal for disposition, and cost analysis.  So far, it has been clear that the administration has no plan beyond closing a valuable resource.”