Close GITMO?

Here is a brilliant idea.

House Democrats are calling for the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to The Politico. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) has made to visits to the facility and is recommending that Congress cut funding for the base at the end of summer 2008.

Moran, who's leading an investigation for the House Defense Appropriations Committee, said the detainees there should be released, tried or moved to the United States to facilities along the east coast. One Democratic official close to the matter told The Politico that Republicans would object to moving detainees to U.S. soil because attorneys could argue their clients are entitled to many new rights.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates defended the Pentagon's decision Wednesday to hold secret hearing for 14 suspected terrorists transferred to Guantanamo Bay, according to The Los Angeles Times. Despite protests from human rights organizations and former military lawyers, Gates said the secrecy would not undermine the process.

Why? I want to know the logic of why GITMO should be closed. Other than Moran wants to destroy the trials and processing of the terrorists.

This article gives some answers.

Key House Democrats plan to insist the Pentagon shut down the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and are contemplating the relocation of many of the 385 or so remaining terrorist suspects to military brigs along the East Coast -- including Quantico, Va., and Charleston, S.C.

"It sets us back in the war on terrorism to be maintaining Guantanamo," said Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who's heading an investigation of the facility for the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

"It will enhance our reputation to close it down and to apply our system of justice to all of these detainees," he added.

Oh, here we go again. Soft shoeing around to make everyone feel good about how we treat the terrorists. Other than it makes the US look weak and stupid to those who would become terrorists. Lots of people don't like GITMO, but lots of countries won't take there citizens who are detained. Should we actually bring terrorists into this country to give them a further chance at getting rights that they don't deserve? Maybe we should just release the GITMO detainees in Moran's district and see how his constituents feel after a bunch of them are killed.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Democrats are planning hearings in April or May to "build a record" that closing Guantanamo would be beneficial and that it would be legal, as well as logistically feasible, to bring its detainees to the United States. The hearings would start with panels of lawyers, some of whom are convinced the plan is workable and some of whom represent detainees now at Guantanamo.

And to make the measure more palatable to Republicans, Moran said he would suggest the detainees be transferred to military bases that would allow them to be tried in federal courts under the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

There you go. They want them to be tried in federal courts, and then I'm sure they'd be given all the protections for a regular citizen. Imagine that, they want to give illegal combatants and terrorists rights like the people they want to kill.

Fascinating.