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Miller: Terrorists don't belong here
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By By MLADEN RUDMAN mladenr@nwfdailynews.com
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Northwest Florida Daily News, March 30th, 2007
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The brig at Naval Air Station Pensacola is one of 17 military prisons that could be used to hold some of the “unlawful enemy combatants” now at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to the House Armed Services Committee.
The committee held a hearing Thursday that focused, in part, on pros and cons of closing the detention and interrogation facility for alleged terrorists at Gitmo and transferring them to military bases in the United States.
Human Rights First Washington Director Elisa Massimino testified at the hearing that her group supports closing the controversial facility. It wants habeas corpus extended to detainees, which would permit them to challenge their captivity.
U.S. Dist. 1 Rep. Jeff Miller opposes shuttering the Gitmo detention center, as well as the push to give habeas corpus rights to its roughly 385 detainees. They were captured as part of America’s ongoing global security sweep after 9-11.
“A good number of these terrorists held at Guantanamo have killed or threatened Americans,” Miller, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. “I just don’t think bringing them into this country to be held at a place like NAS Pensacola is a good idea.”
Based on NAS Pensacola brig’s current inmate population, the prison could accommodate some 20 detainees, according to the committee.
Miller believes transferring the suspects would pose security risks for the military bases where they’re kept and surrounding communities. He also said the detainees would be worse off. He also worries that bringing detainees to the United States would improve their chances of getting constitutional protections such as habeas corpus that only American citizens deserve.
“It’s obvious some in Congress want to bring these detainees to the American shore,” continued Miller. “I’m going to do everything I can to keep that from happening.” Massimino of Human Rights First contends that Gitmo is part of a self-defeating Bush administration policy that strengthens terrorist organizations. She also argued being labeled an enemy combatant is a badge of honor for terrorists or terrorists-in-the-making.
The policies “violate human rights and they’re also suspect from a national security point of view,” said Massimino. She would like to see detainees transferred to the United States with habeas corpus rights and processed quickly. Massimino figured many, if not most, of the detainees would be adjudicated no-threats, as has been the case even under the military tribunal process. The remainder would be tried fairly and, if guilty, imprisoned. Massimino wants the definition of unlawful enemy combatant tightened because she says it’s too broad and could be used to squelch legitimate activism at home or overseas.
Daily News Staff Writer Mladen
Rudman can be reached at 863-1111,
Ext. 443.
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