Inhofe Leads on Halting GITMO Transfers to U.S.

Press Release

U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today introduced an amendment to the war supplemental to prohibit the use of funds to transfer detainees at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO) to any facility in the United States or its territories, or build, modify, or enhance any facility in the United States or its territories for the purpose of housing any such detainee.

"Since President Obama made his announcement to close down GITMO within the next year, I have led the fight to expose the serious national security implications his decision would have on our nation," Senator Inhofe said. "President Obama's Executive Order failed to take into consideration the monetary and security costs accrued by closing GITMO such as what happens to current detainees at GITMO, what the military would do with detainees held in other military prisons around the world, how the military should handle terrorists captured in the future, and what judicial process is going to be used. The detainee complex at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is the only complex in the world that can safely and humanely hold enemy combatants that pose the highest level of threat to the US.

"Most importantly, the American public does not want these terrorists in their neighborhoods - currently over 25 states have legislation preventing GITMO detainees from being transferred to or held in their state. Any plan to transfer or release detainees from GITMO must ensure the safety and security of the US and its citizens. The fact is the Obama Administration has presented no concrete plan to facilitate the closing of GITMO. I hope my colleagues in the Senate recognize the danger and irresponsibility involved in moving forward with closing GITMO, and support this important amendment."

Background:

Senator Inhofe will introduce an amendment to the war supplemental today that would prohibit the use of funds to transfer detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO) to any facility in the United States or its territories, or build, modify, or enhance any facility in the United States or its territories for the purpose of housing any such detainee.

Since President Obama announced that he intended to close GITMO, despite having not produced a disposition plan for the remaining detainees, it has become widely circulated that these prisoners could be transferred to American prisons. Senator Inhofe traveled to the prison in February for the third time to highlight the asset our nation would lose if the prison were to be closed. Senator Inhofe has consistently fought to protect Americans from the transfer of dangerous detainees to the US, and his amendment would prevent any funds in the supplemental from being used for this purpose.

In response to Pres. Obama's executive order to close the prison, Sen. Inhofe led a Congressional Delegation to Guantanamo Bay to see firsthand the state of the prison operations and get the facts out about its critical role in maintaining U.S. national security. While on location, Sen. Inhofe filmed a message to the public via YouTube.

Senator Inhofe then introduced legislation (S.370) to prevent the detainees at Guantanamo from being relocated anywhere on American soil.

He also joined Move America Forward, the nation's largest grassroots organization committed to supporting America's efforts to defeat terrorism and to supporting the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, in calling on Pres. Obama to reverse his decision to close GITMO.

Senator Inhofe toured the Regional Correctional Facility at Fort Sill, one of the US Facilities listed as a possible location to hold Guantanamo detainees to show the discrepancy between the advanced capabilities at GITMO and the proposed US holding sites. The cost of upgrading US sites builds a case to keep the Guantanamo Bay detention facility open and prevent possible relocation of detainees to U.S. soil. Link to Release.

The release of a Pentagon report affirmed what Sen. Inhofe has been saying all along: that the conditions in Guantanamo are humane and fully compliant with the Geneva Convention.

Three weeks after Sen. Inhofe's call for President Obama and Senate colleagues to go see firsthand the facility at GITMO, Attorney General Eric Holder visited GITMO and said closing "will not be an easy process" and even admitted "the facility is well-run by its current military officers." (Washington AP) Read Senator Inhofe's response.

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