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Former AG to Durbin: Gitmo to Illinois Job Claim ‘Absurd’
“I think that increasing the risk for citizens in this country as a jobs program is absurd, if not obscene,” said Mukasey, who served as the nation’s top law enforcement official from 2006-08. … “Closing Guantanamo makes this country safer,” Gibbs said at the time, referring to criticism of closing the facility from House Republican Leader John Boehner. … “I think you have to understand the difference between a reason and a pretext,” Mukasey shot back, “The fact is that al Qaeda recruited people and people attacked this country before there was a Guantanamo. We were attacked in ’93, the U.S.S. Cole, Cobart Tower, they attacked our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and they attacked us on 9/11 — all prior to the establishment of Guantanamo.”
Plan to Move Guantánamo Detainees Faces a New Delay
[O]fficials estimated that it could take 8 to 10 months to install new fencing, towers, cameras and other security upgrades before any transfers take place. … Such construction cannot begin until the federal government buys the prison from the State of Illinois.Several weeks ago, the White House approached the House Appropriations Committee and floated the idea of adding about $200 million for the project to the military spending bill for the 2010 fiscal year, according to administration and Congressional officials. But Democratic leaders refused to include the politically charged measure in the legislation. … The administration will probably not have another opportunity until Congress takes up a supplemental appropriations bill for the Afghanistan war. Lawmakers are not likely to finish that bill until late March or April. … Frustrated by the difficulties in obtaining financing from Congress, administration officials had discussed invoking a little-known statute that would allow the president to declare a national emergency and then use military funds allocated for other construction projects to buy and retrofit the Illinois prison. That statute, however, has never been used for a project quite like this one. Fearing that lawmakers would be angered by such a move and could respond by erasing the statute, the administration decided not to invoke it. [emphasis added ours] — New York Times 12/23/09
Moving detainees to Ill. risky, skeptics say
Federal and state authorities faced harsh questioning from Republican lawmakers and a chilly reception from an audience yesterday over a plan to bring terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to western Illinois. State lawmakers organized a public hearing over a plan to sell the state prison in Thomson to the federal government. Alan Liotta, principal director for detainee policy at the Pentagon, said the goal was to remove Guantanamo as a recruiting tool for terrorists. “I appreciate your optimism,” said State Sen. Matt Murphy, a Republican. “I can’t say that I share it.”
Quinn skips public hearing on Gitmo prison proposal to honor firefighters, veterans (see Editor’s note)
December 22, 2009 CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. Pat Quinn says he decided to spend his day remembering fallen Chicago firefighters and honoring veterans rather than listen to public testimony about a plan to bring terrorism suspects to an Illinois prison. Quinn says his top staff is at Tuesday’s hearing before the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability in Sterling. The governor says the Corrections Department director and the head of the Illinois State Police will be at the hearing to answer questions about plans to sell Thomson prison to the federal government. And Quinn says he’ll receive a full report. Quinn spent Tuesday morning at an event to remember Chicago firefighters who died in the line of duty 99 years ago. He later spoke to reporters at an event at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center.
Editor’s notes –
At least part of Quinn’s day was spent remembering what to pack; the Los Angeles Times reported this morning, “Quinn, who was en route to Germany, did not attend.”
Reliable sources say after some veterans indicated they would join the protest in Sterling, a reminder came down from Governor Quinn’s office of his past support for veterans groups and issues. Was that a threat?
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These corrupt piles of human refuge that run this state and who send that Marxist from their very own hell hole known as Chicago better start listening to us.
“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.”
Sam Adams 1776
LOCK & LOAD…….America
Below is an e-mail I sent last week to one of our Illinois representatives:
I am confident that you will help us STOP this horrible plan, but I wanted to add some points for your consideration.
1. Please don’t let the flood of lawsuits start by letting the terrorists on US soil. Once we let them on US soil, there will be a flood of lawsuits filed by the terrorist funded factions, to drive the US Govt to release intelligence information. Even when these motions are denied, we are forced to show some of our cards. We show what information we DO and DON’T have. The reason for these suits is not to secure the prisoners’ release. It’s to push information into the public domain so that our enemies can gauge what we know, and adjust their tactics accordingly. They want to swamp our system just responding to these, and obtain key tactical information.
Guantanamo Bay was set up for a fundamental reason of basic principles, to keep these non-citizen enemies from even being claimed to have the rights of American citizens.
(BTW: Everyone was on board with this immediately after 9/11, the objections to our spectrum of actions against terrorism didn’t start until the campaign season when Democrats tried to elect John Kerry. They’ve been simply a political call, not an informed component of our security).
2. “Hiding in plain sight”. This is in progress right now, and the Thompson area will be subject to having “visitors” coming in and out of the area. Some to be “visitors” to the detainees, some to measure the strength of our security. If any of your colleagues don’t believe this, they should be reminded of what happened in Kinsman, IL (about 100 miles from Thompson) just a couple of months ago, when the FBI busted a goat-meat processing business that was operating as a money laundering facility for terrorists in the middle east! The citizens of the Thompson are deserve better than having those rats weaving in and out of their communities.
Please understand: Even a secure prison that is able to fend off an attack or attempted break-out isn’t a victory. The terrorists constantly ‘poke the bear’ to see what sensitivities exist, and to tune their tactics. If an attack on the prison includes an initial diversion attack that blows up a nearby school, fending off the attack at the prison is of little value.
3. If keeping these terrorists is so safe, then they should stay in the city of Chicago where their sponsors are from. Rahm Emanual, Dick Durbin, and Barak Obama can all use their influence to bring them to THEIR home town. What makes the rural people so expendable to have all the risk dumped out here?
4. I saw your interview on Fox News, and appreciate the concerns you raise. However, I will disagree with one point of yours. That being, that the economy weighs in as a factor in a decision like this. I disagree. For Thompson and Illinois in general, this is a Faustian bargain. I would not blur RIGHT vs WRONG with financial issues. WRONG is WRONG, period. The state’s poor financial conditions are unfortunate, but that’s a different problem, and participating in such a horrible and very mistaken action is just wrong.
Please don’t let this financial pain obscure a decision that should be based on principle. (as an highlight of this point, we could talk ourselves into allowing all kinds of immoral or mistaken actions if we relaxed principle whenever we need money).
I appreciate you consideration. If I am able to get to the Sterling Rally, I’ll be there and ask to present points like this, but I’m afraid I likely can’t get off work.