Rep. Tom Perriello (D-5) comments on the issue of shutting down Guantanamo Bay and potentially transferring the detainees to maximum-security prisons in the United States, which Republicans are absurdly trying to make hay out of:As a former national security consultant, I know that the net impact of the Gitmo facility has been to endanger our troops and hand our enemies a major tool for recruitment. As a Christian, I believe that torture is an act of blasphemy that threatens the moral compass of our country. Yesterday’s vote was a victory for serious national security solutions over partisan fear-mongering and I will continue to put what’s right for America ahead of what’s easy politically.Exactly right.
Now, here's some additional context from the National Security Network:
General Petraeus, CENTCOM commander, said that the detention center hurts our ability to maintain the moral high ground, harms our counterinsurgency efforts and serves as a major terrorist recruiting tool. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, a career intelligence and defense official who has dealt with imprisoning terrorists for 20 years, said this past Monday that the U.S. has imprisoned terrorist suspects many times and conservative opposition amounted to “fear mongering.”In short, U.S. military leaders from General Petraeus to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates all agree that closing Gitmo is in the best interests of our national security. Tom Perriello understands that. Republicans? Not so much.
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A bipartisan panel made up of Secretaries Kissinger, Albright, Powell, Baker, and Christopher all agreed that closing Guantanamo Bay is vital for repairing the damage it has caused to America’s image. As James Baker, Secretary of State for George H.W. Bush, said: “Close Guantanamo. We were on a panel together several months ago, and we all agreed, one of the best things that could happen would be to close Guantanamo, which is a very serious blot upon our reputation.”
