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Ear to the Ground

Defense Secretary Asks Congress to Close Gitmo

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Posted on Mar 29, 2007
Robert Gates
usip.org

Defense Secretary Robert Gates in a file photo.

Robert Gates urged Congress on Thursday to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, acknowledging that the international community was likely to doubt the credibility of tribunals held there: “My own view is that because of things that happened earlier at Guantanamo there is a taint about it.”


BBC:

The US has started the military trials of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay.

Mr Gates told a House of Representatives committee that “my own view is that because of things that happened earlier at Guantanamo there is a taint about it.”

He said he wanted the Guantanamo prison to be closed and the trials moved to the US “because I felt that no matter how transparent, no matter how open the trials, if they took place in Guantanamo, in the international community they would lack credibility.”

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By NathanHale, March 30, 2007 at 4:39 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

We should not only close the prison but also turn the base back over to the Cubans.

Reopen a base in CONUS on the border, preferably a high illegal immigrant traffic area.

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By Peter Ristov, March 30, 2007 at 12:15 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

So, there is “a taint” about Guantanamo, wow, by what intellectual brain process did our secretary of defense, come to this un-patriotic conclusion? Has he,too, fallen into trap of the Al-Qaeda’s powerfull propaganda as his wise predecessor predicted?
  I have a news for our constitution-illiterate
secretary of War: You don’t need any decision from the Congress to close that place of disgrace, a simple executive order will do it. Your boss would also “like to close it” but doesn’t know how. Between you two, you have an apparently, insoluble problem.

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By Lani, March 30, 2007 at 11:45 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

The US has many secret torture prisions around the world as well as outsourcing agreements with other governments to torture our prisoners. I think Gates is dishonest.Does closing Guantamamo really addresss this secret shadow world of private contractors,private prisons,and the assitance of other goverments who willingly torture prisoners that has come to characterize the new America? I am sorry but Robert Gates doing the right thing,I simply don’t belive it.

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By Jackie T. Gabel, March 30, 2007 at 3:35 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Coming from the cofounder of Al Queda, the irony in this resists disection even by a blow torch.

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By Mackie Ramsay, March 29, 2007 at 11:08 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Knowing that Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants the Guantanamo prison closed means there is one person in the Bush Administration who has common sense and good judgement. One of main problems of the Bush Admisistration is their belief in the cruelty of torture.

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By Quy Tran, March 29, 2007 at 8:08 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Too late, Mr. Gates ! The whole civilized world was spitting at your government face due to this damned concentration camp. How about the other camps throughout the world at your slavery nations ?

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By Robert, March 29, 2007 at 7:53 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Actually, I respectfully disagree that the base should be closed immediately. the best way to build International Creditability would be to conduct a few more trials.

We should keep Guantanamo open for a minimum of four or five more very important trials.  Rumsfeldt, Gonzales, Rove, Cheney and Bush.

This would be the best way to build international credibility rapidly and USA could get some return on the investment for the costs of construction of the facilities.

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