House Deals Obama Another Major Blow on Gitmo
Posted by Bill Dupray
on Jun 18 2009 Filed under Politics.
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Closing Gitmo in January became one step closer to legally impossible today.
From Sauk Valley.
Already this week, the House showed its defiance of Obama’s goal of shutting down the facility by approving a $100 billion war-spending bill that stipulates that it will not allow the use of federal money to close Guantanamo in the final months of this budget year. That bill is expected to be passed by the Senate soon. . . .
The bill before the House Thursday prohibits the release of detainees into the United States during the 2010 budget year. It would allow the transfer to the United States of detainees for prosecution or detention only after Congress has had two months to read a White House report on how it plans to shut the detention facility and disperse the inmates.
The House bill also requires the Obama administration to notify lawmakers of any plans to transfer detainees to other countries.
But the chamber also rejected an amendment by Rep. Jerry Lewis, a Republican, that strengthened the prohibition by stopping in its tracks funding for any government activity related to closing the facility.
The amendment first went down on a 216-212 vote. After Republicans demanded a recount, it was defeated again, 213-212.
If the bill passes the Senate, Obama could veto it, which would maim him politically, or he can sign it. If it doesn’t reach his desk for another few weeks, he will still have to craft a still-elusive reason for shutting the place down, and then Congress gets 60 days to review it. Any plan that specifically lists locations in the United States for relocation of the terrorists will run into a blowtorch of opposition by those states’ congressional delegations.
Looks more likely that Obama will have to renege on yet another campaign promise, and keep Gitmo open. The sound you hear the day he capitulates on that issue will be the sound of liberal heads exploding.
Related Posts
- White House: We blew it on Gitmo
- Kirk to Obama: No Gitmo thugs transfered to Illinois
- Big poll shift on closing of Gitmo, but do polls matter anymore?
- Gitmo: Nothing in a year. Not surprising
- Congress: Not a dime for Gitmo closure
Short URL: http://libertypundits.net/?p=4683
I find this part sad – The House bill also requires the Obama administration to notify lawmakers of any plans to transfer detainees to other countries.
It suggests to me that the horrendous foreign policy blunder – which the Brits are still cranky about – sending the Uighers (wooble but they don’t fall down) to Bermuda without telling Great Britain until the terrorists were on the tarmac is not going to be played out again because the legislative branch is going to ensure that portion of diplomatic relations is honored. How embarrassing for the child president.
At least if Congress is told, our allies will have a chance of finding out which terrorists are being dumped in their country before they are on the plane. It is sad.