Newly elected Republican Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) has no problem stating how he really feels about Gitmo detainees.
In a hearing on the administration’s recent decision to close the Guantanamo Bay facilities, (something Senator Obama promised to do when he was running for President in 2008), Senator Cotton grilled Brian McKeon, the Deputy Undersecretary for Defense Policy. Cotton hammered the point that the administration’s decision to close Gitmo was not one based on national security, but one born of politicking.
Senator Cotton: Ok now I want to explore the so-called risk balance between recidivism of released terrorists and the propaganda value that terrorists get from Guantanamo Bay. How many recidivists are there at Guantanamo Bay right now?Secretary McKeon: I’m not sure I follow the question…Senator Cotton: How many detainees at Guantanamo Bay are engaged in terrorism or anti-American incitement?Secretary McKeon: There are none.Senator Cotton: Because theyre detained. Because they only engage in that kind of recidivism overseas. Now let’s look at the propaganda value: How many detainees were at Guantanamo Bay on September 11, 2001?
After a few more questions and feeble answers, Senator Cotton goes in for the kill.
Senator Cotton: Islamic terrorists don’t need an excuse to attack the United States, to attack us is what they do, they attack us for what we are. It is not your decision. It is a political decision based on a promise the president made on his campaign. To say that it is a security decision based propaganda value that our enemies get from it is a pretext to justify a political decision. In my opinion the only problem with Guantanamo Bay is there are too many empty beds and cells there right now. We should be sending more terrorists there for further interrogation to keep this country safe. As far as I’m concerned, every last one of them can rot in Hell, but as long as they don’t do that they can rot in Guantanamo Bay.
The exchange can be viewed here:
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