TIMESONLINE: President Obama’s high-profile pledge to shut Guantánamo Bay was stalled by his own party last night when Senate Democrats said they would not pay for the closure until they knew where the detainees were going to be sent.
The blow is the latest set-back for the Obama Administration, which has already disappointed some supporters by announcing that the controversial military tribunals for detainees, set up by President Bush but halted by Mr Obama on taking office, will be re-started.
Senators said they would deny the request for $80 million to move the 240 detainees from the US military base in Cuba. They also promised to prevent the Administration from transferring any of the facility’s prisoners to the US, although an outright ban could be relaxed in subsequent legislation.
Harry Reid, the Democrat Majority Leader, insisted that none of Guantánamo’s detainees should be sent to the US to stand trial or serve prison sentences.
“We don’t want them around,” he said. “I can’t make it any more clear. . . We will never allow terrorists to be released in the United States.”
The Senate block, echoing a similar move by the House of Representatives, threatens to paralyse the Obama Administration’s key pledge to shut down the military camp by January. Congress's attitude may force the detention facility to remain in operation indefinitely. >>> Nico Hines | Wednesday, May 20, 2009
