In this photo taken Tuesday, May 12, 2009 and reviewed by the U.S. military, a U.S. trooper guards a door at Camp 6 detention facility, inside Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)"WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's allies in the Senate will not provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay prison until the administration comes up with a satisfactory plan for transferring the detainees held there, top Democrats said Tuesday.
And in a further break with Obama, the Senate's top Democrat said he opposes transferring any Guantanamo prisoners to the United States for their trials or to serve their sentences. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has said 50 to 100 Guantanamo detainees may be transferred to U.S. facilities.
"I can't make it any more clear," Reid said. "We will never allow terrorists to be released in the United States."Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said Obama's plan to close Guantanamo is not dead — only that the funding will have to wait until the administration devises an acceptable plan to handle the closure and transfer the detainees. Obama has promised to close the military prison by January.
"The administration has not come up with a plan at this point," said Durbin, who is the whip, or No. 2 Democrat in the Senate. He added that Democrats are likely to address the issue on later legislation. "I think Guantanamo should be closed and we have to wait for the president's direction on what happens to the detainees."
LinkWHAT? I thought those were all innocent and misunderstood farmers and goatherders being detained at GitMo, not dangerous terrorists. What gives?
