Republicans fume over report on Gitmo closure

AFP/Reuters/Washington

President Barack Obama is considering shutting Guantanamo and transferring its terror-suspect detainees to US soil, according to a US news report that raised the ire of Republican lawmakers yesterday.

The report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said that Obama is mulling moving the Guantanamo inmates to US soil without first obtaining congressional consent.

While administration officials say Obama prefers a legislative solution rather than overriding Congress through executive action, a senior official told the daily that the president remained “unwavering in his commitment” to closing the prison, and wants all options on the table.

But House Speaker John Boehner warned that Obama would be making a “dangerous” mistake to shift the detainees to US prisons.

“An overwhelming majority of the American people and bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate oppose importing the terrorists imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay into the United States, yet the White House continues to move forward with its plan,” Boehner said in a statement.

“Even as Islamic jihadists are beheading Americans, the White House is so eager to bring these terrorists from Guantanamo Bay to the United States that it is examining ways to thwart Congress and unilaterally re-write the law,” he said.

Republican Senator Pat Roberts threatened to bring legislative action to a standstill should Obama seek to shift “a Gitmo terrorist” into the United States.

“If he tries it, I will shut down the Senate,” Roberts told supporters in Kansas, according to Roll Call.

Other Republicans also sounded off.

“Any action by the president to close Guantanamo Bay by overriding Congress is blatantly illegal,” House Republican Mark Meadows warned on Twitter.

And Republican Senator Tim Scott tweeted: “They should stay right where they are ... far away from our schools and families.”

The US Naval facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba currently holds 149 detainees linked to the post-9/11 war on terrorism, but Obama made closing Guantanamo a campaign promise but he has been thwarted by domestic and international obstacles.

Congress in 2010 banned the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to US soil after the administration proposed relocating them to a maximum-security prison in Illinois.

Yesterday’s expressions of outrage by Republican lawmakers come on the heels of moves to sue the president over what they consider abuses of executive power, including delays to key provisions of Obama’s healthcare law.

Republicans also have voiced exasperation at Obama’s threats to take executive action on other issues like minimum wage and immigration.

Complaints grew louder in June when the administration revealed it bypassed Congress and released five Taliban Guantanamo detainees for the return of a US Army sergeant held for five years in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the White House has denied the WSJ report.

“Since the president came into office in 2009 the administration has been examining all possible ways we could get to closure of the facility, but we are not drafting options to override the law,” White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said. “We are continuing to work on transfers (of prisoners) and calling on Congress to lift restrictions.”

The White House said it would continue to make efforts to repatriate or resettle detainees or prosecute them through federal courts or military commission proceedings.

The administration would also proceed in talks with foreign governments to negotiate possible prisoner transfers.

“The administration will also continue to call on members of both parties to work together to ensure that Congress lifts the remaining restrictions and enables the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay,” Hayden said.