Close Guantanamo Bay?

Listening in to the president’s news conference this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder what the highly educated members of the White House Press Corps propose we do with the terrorists currently being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. To recap, the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba houses terrorists and enemy combatants who have been captured on the battlefield in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Despite the fact that these prisoners are given prayer rugs to practice their faith, three square meals a day and treatment better than the American soldiers who are guarding them, a mantra persists in the media that we should close Guantanamo. Mind you, not one allegation of torture has been proven and captured terrorists have admitted that they are trained to allege torture at the hands of their American “captors.”  

So what does it mean to “close Guantanamo Bay,” exactly? Do these reporters and Democratic candidates running for office propose we transfer them to the United States? Should we have these terrorists housed on American soil, where they could pose a risk to our population, to appease those who oppose the terrorists’ “inhumane” treatment and facilities in Cuba? I have spoken to several members of Congress who have personally traveled down to Cuba to ascertain the facts for themselves. The universal response I have received, from Democratic and Republican members alike, is that Guantanamo Bay is a clean, humane and orderly facility that has been demonized in the media.

So the next time you hear a candidate running for office pestering the president of the United States about when he will close Guantanamo Bay, ask yourself whether doing so would be in the best interest of the people of the United States. Ask yourself why some of these terrorists do not want to return to their country of origin for fear of being tortured — or worse. Ask yourself why people are content to play political games when America remains at war with a determined enemy who seeks to kill us and our way of life.

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