Rep. King Against Closing of Guantanamo After Recent Visit
Rep. Pete King, who lead a congressional delegation to the terrorist-detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in February, is more convinced than ever that President Obama's executive order to close Gitmo by next Jan. 22 is wrong and misguided and, if fully implemented, will threaten American security at home and abroad.
Rep. King said the prison looked more like Club Med for terrorists than the torture chamber depicted by its critics, telling the New York Post:
"The prisoners are being treated better than American citizens in any prison I've been to in the United States," said King, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee. "They're allowed out of their cells for hours at a time - even the worst of the worst."
Congressman King has also publicly come out against the Guantanamo prisoners possibly being put on trial in the United States District Court for the Sothern District of New York located near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. King, the Ranking Member on the Homeland Security Committee, has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder expressing his opposition to the plan. See letter here.
In an Op-Ed also in the New York Post, Rep. King further describes the humane treatment of detainees at Guantanamo including:
- Detainees get three full meals a day with a choice of menu.
- Each detainee receives a Koran and a prayer rug.
- Arrows throughout the facility point toward Mecca.
- Detainees receive full medical treatment - including psychiatric services. There is one medical personnel for every two detainees.
- Detainees who comply with regulations are allowed out of their cells for 16 to 20 hours a day and participate in various recreational and educational activities including soccer, language training and art classes.
- Noncompliant detainees - including the hardest of the hard core - are allowed out of their cells for four to seven hours a day. (It was particularly galling to observe a vicious terrorist reclining in the sun like a Palm Beach retiree.)
- Detainees have access to live TV, books and two daily Arab newspapers plus USA Today.
- Detainees are allowed to confer to discuss courtroom strategy.
- Guards within the facility are not armed and are regularly subjected to abuse and harassment, including having human feces and urine thrown at them.
“We are at war with Islamic terrorism. Gitmo is a major front in that war. Closing Guantanamo could well mean releasing deadly Islamic terrorists overseas or bringing them to American soil.”
Rep. King recently discussed the findings of his trip during an appearance on CNN with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee:
King on the Issues
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