Obama Can Act Responsibly on Guantanamo or Please the Liberals, But Not Both

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You call this a "major defeat" for Obama. I don't see it that way at all. First, Guantanamo is a minor issue compared to numerous other issues facing us today (for example, the recession, healthcare costs, Iran, North Korea, and two wars). Obama's selection of the family dog got more coverage than Guantanamo has. Second, the Dems have prevented Obama from closing Guantanamo, at least for now, and this provides Obama with an excuse to keep the place open. He looks good to the world because he has attempted to close it, while he continues to have the option of keeping terrorists there. As an aside, many Americans have irrational fears of keeping terrorists in Federal prisons on the U.S. mainland. The likelihood of escape is virtually nill. I've worked in jails and can tell you they are very secure. No one has ever escaped from a supermax prison, which is where they'd be housed. The likelihood that they would "infect" other inmates with Jihadist anti-American beliefs is minimal. These guys will be outcasts among hardened criminals and will be in grave danger if they are mixed with the general inmate population. Instead, they'd be in solitary conditions 23-hours per day, unable to share their beliefs with other prisoners. Our federal prisons have been housing Islamist terrorists such as the "Blind Shiek" and Ramzi Yousef for years without trouble. We have also held German POW's in U.S. prison camps during WWII with little trouble. We can safely put Islamist terrorists in Federal prisons.

S. Kaplan of NY 12:50PM May 26, 2009

It is refreshing to observe that even the die hard democrats are finally realizing what a horrible blunder it was to elect "Mr Glib", AKA "BO Plenty" (my apologies to Al Capp and "Lil Abner". Since I am 87 years old I don't contemplate being around long enough to see or hear the "Baby Boomers" and all their progeny finally (and grudgingly) admit what a horrible mistake is was to pillory GWB for over 8 years and to now find out that a great deal of what he accomplished in spit of a Liberal congress ws'nt all that bad. Gitmo was a good idea to begin with by putting all that scum in Castro's back yard, and it kept the Muslim hypocrats out of the U.S. We will have to wait for the rest of this 4-year term to get a chance to shut the ignoramuses up...Maybe the rest of this current 4-year term will be enough to get the baby boomers and all their stupidity out of federal offices. You can then watch the east coast and west coast hypocrites stew in their own juice. Obama would'nt make a pimple on George Bushes butt.

R Meacham of OK 2:12PM May 25, 2009

Dear Heavely God the Father, I pray unto Thee that Governor Sarah Palin will be inaugurated the 45th President of the United States of America on January 20, 2013, and reinaugrated President on January 20, 2017. I pray also unto Thee that Governor Sarah Palin will beat Barack Obama in 2012. Above all I pray that Sarah Palin will be the greatest President that the United States of America will have ever had from January 20, 2013 to January 20. 2021. These 3 prayer request I pray unto Thee Thou Heavenly God the Father that Thou wilt answer them both. And I pray this unto Thee in the name of God the Son , the Lord Jesus Christ , Amen

John Warren of NJ 3:08PM May 23, 2009

Governor Sarah Palin must beat Barack Obama in 2012 because of her superior conservative right wing philosophy in that she is pro God and Christianity, pro life, pro marriage; pro guns-second amendment, pro low taxes, pro low government spending; pro small government, pro unintrusive government, pro traditional and Judeo Christian values; pro Bible reading and prayer in our public schools, pro Christians schools and private education , pro private and free enterprise; pro military spending, anti arms agreements with Russia, pro creation; pro nuclear, pro conservative supreme court judges, pro American sovereignty; pro capitalism, anti communist, anti socialist; conservative on immigration, and pro constitution. Barack Obama are of the inferior liberal and left wing ideology in that he is against every thing that Governor Sarah Palin is for and he is for every thing that Governor Sarah Palin is against. From 01/20/13 to 01/20/21 Governor Sarah Palin will be a better President than all that all that went before her and after her
Thank You,
JohnWarren

John Warren of NJ 3:05PM May 23, 2009

This is totally Much Ado About Nothing! The object of interrogation is to obtain information. You get information by creating fear in the one being interrogated. What is feared may be real or imagined.
Torture has, thru the ages, meant physical violence- beatings, burning, throttling, thumbscrews, The Iron Maiden, electrical shocks, etc. Fear can be caused without these if strong physical uncomfortableness can be induced or introduced making one believe that more & worse is coming. That is not torture. It may be fear of torture, two different things. What our men experienced in the Hanoi Hylton was torture.
If humiliating and making uncomfortable and causing fear in someone can cause one to sing like a canary in order to save us from a disaster, let us do it and stop fiddlefarting around with dumb concepts and thoughtless softhearted
brainlessness.

DerAlte of VA 11:18AM May 22, 2009

This is totally Much Ado About Nothing! The object of interrogation is to obtain information. You get information by creating fear in the one being interrogated. What is feared may be real or imagined.
Torture has, thru the ages, meant physical violence- beatings, burning, throttling, thumbscrews, The Iron Maiden, electrical shocks, etc. Fear can be caused without these if strong physical uncomfortableness can be induced or introduced making one believe that more & worse is coming. That is not torture. It may be fear of torture, two different things. What our men experienced in the Hanoi Hylton was torture.
If humiliating and making uncomfortable and causing fear in someone can cause one to sing like a canary in order to save us from a disaster, let us do it and stop fiddlefarting around with dumb concepts and thoughtless softhearted
brainlessness.

DerAlte of VA 11:18AM May 22, 2009

Where they can be tried, convicted and fried.
The preactice of torture is only for religious sects that exorcise demons from their children.
If this seems cynical, you explain it your way.

HillbillyBill of TN 9:47AM May 21, 2009

I love how acting responsibly is described as conservative, since it was Republicans who got us into every single mess we are currently facing, including Guantanamo. Yeah. Responsible my ass. I seriously hope the arrogant bastards aren't smiling about anything right now, and if they are, they deserve a good kick in the nuts.

Jack of NJ 6:51PM May 20, 2009

send them back to there own countries&let there people put them behind bars we have enough trouble in the USA let alone worrying about them. i am sure everyone feels the same way.

jill rogers of PA 6:47PM May 20, 2009

It seems to me that if the left wants the terrorists brought to the U.S.,they ought to go to one of the following -
1. Washington, D.C.
2. Pelosi's San Francisco
3. Reid's Las Vegas
4. Durbin and Obama's Chicago
5. Biden's Wilmington
I propose that the citizens of these 5 fine cities hold a vote and the location that has the highest approval rating receive the detainees. What could be fairer? They could hold a ticker tape parade.

JR Gordon of FL 3:53PM May 20, 2009