Will the Senate start moving on closing Guantanamo? Democratic senators Feinstein and Durbin write in the Los Angeles Times: “How should the 166 individuals at Guantanamo be handled? First, Congress and the administration should expedite efforts to transfer the 86 detainees already cleared for transfer. This includes 30 non-Yemeni prisoners and 56 Yemenis. The president should exercise his authority to transfer the non-Yemeni detainees to other countries, where they could remain in custody. The 56 Yemenis could be sent to Yemen or Saudi Arabia, where those governments could hold them so they do not attack the U.S. or our allies. The administration should finally begin the long-promised periodic review board hearings to evaluate the more than 70 detainees who have not been cleared for transfer. The board must permit detainees to challenge their continued detention, and over time, those who do not pose a threat should be transferred to other countries. The White House has submitted an outline of a plan for closing Guantanamo that stated that "the first two detainees receiving PRB hearings have been notified." This is a positive step that we hope means the first hearings will start this month. The 2014 Senate defense authorization bill will come up for debate on the Senate floor this fall. Congress must pass the provisions that streamline procedures for transferring detainees abroad and allow transfers to the U.S. for trial or detention under international law until the end of hostilities. It is time to close Guantanamo.” It is a shame that neither Feinstein nor Durbin are Republican, and the Republicans are unlikely to listen. The Republicans in congress are likely to hold up the very first part of this as they have been doing for some time now. latimes/news/opinion/la-oe-feinstein-durbin-close-gitmo-20130814,0,432429.story idebate.org/blog-post/will-senate-start-moving-closing-guantanamo
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 13:06:47 +0000
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