President Obama announced his plans this morning to finally shut down the notorious Guantanamo Bay. He explained in his opening remarks that the existence of "Gitmo" has undermined the US to the world and has been a recruiting tool for terrorism.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday presented a long-awaited plan to Congress to shut down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, insisting that keeping the prison open is "contrary to our values."
"It's been clear that the detention center at Guantanamo Bay does not advance our national security," Obama said from the Roosevelt Room at the White House. "It undermines it."
"Keeping this facility open is contrary to our values," Obama said. "It undermines our standing in the world. It is viewed as a stain on our broader record of upholding the highest standards of rule of law."
The plan, which has been on Obama's agenda since he took office in 2009, hinges on the transfer of between 30 and 60 detainees to U.S. soil, and suggests several possible locations in South Carolina, Kansas and Colorado. The rest of the 91 detainees at the prison could be sent to other countries.
It's utterly ridiculous that the world's leading country in imprisoning people (not a proud accomplishment) is too afraid to detain terrorists.
You can expect Republicans to come out swift and hard against Obama's plan, like the bloodthirsty Sen. Tom Cotton.
President Obama’s plan to close #GITMO is nothing short of a national security disaster. https://t.co/jU1dRiiWoY
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) February 23, 2016
