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Senator Inhofe Floor Speech on GITMO

March 4, 2009

Mr. President, on January 22^nd, President Obama passed an Executive Order to close the detainee facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or GTMO, within one year.  On February 2^nd, I led a my third Congressional visit to GTMO since 9/11 Since then, several other Members of Congress, as well as the United States Attorney General Eric Holder made similar visits to Guantanamo Bay to assess the status and quality of the detainee facility that houses some of the world’s most dangerous and active terrorists. 

It is imperative that the American people understand the real value of this installation and the national security risk incurred should this facility close as the President has proposed.

Since the United States began its Global War on Terrorism, terrorists have been captured by the US and its allies across the globeThe US has detained almost 800 Al-Qaeda and Taliban combatants at GTMO.  Since 2002, more than 525 detainees have been tried and transferred from GTMO to other countriesToday, only 245 detainees remain at GTMO.   

DoD officials have gone to great lengths to set up a thorough legal process to deter­mine whether detainees are a threat to the United States and each year, formal military commissions reassess whether detentions should be continued.  These reviews led to the release of a number of detainees with some returned to their home countries or given asylum in other countries.  Others are awaiting release while the United States ensures that the countries receiving them will treat them in a humane manner. 

Finally, some will be tried as war criminals under a military commis­sion process that is established and authorized by law.  These hearings, boards and tribunals are manned with the same judges that we entrust to mediate trials for our own servicemen. T

he Expeditionary Legal Complex, or ELC, located at GTMO is the only facility of its kind in the world. There are on average, two lawyers for every detainee that has been charged or had charges preferred against them at GITMO.

The ELC provides:

·        a secure location to hold and try detainees charged by the US government·        full access to sensitive and classified information

·        full access to defense lawyers and prosecution

·        and full media access by the press. 

The detainee complex at GTMO is the only complex in the world that can safely and humanely hold these individuals who pose such a grave security risk to the US. It is a secure location away from population centers, provides the maximum security required to prevent escape, as well as multiple levels of confinement opportunities based on the compliance of the detainee.

GTMO also provides medical care not available to a majority of the world’s population.   There are 127 doctors, nurses and medical technicians dedicated to caring for and maintaining the health of each detainee – a ratio of 1:2 (one health care professional for every two detainees).

Furthermore, GTMO is the single greatest repository of human intelligence in the war on terror.  This intelligence has prevented terrorist attacks and saved lives in the past and continues to do so today.  New intelligence is continually being collected from detainees at GTMO and is being used to fight terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the globe.  This intelligence information obtained from questioning detainees includes a variety of issues of value to US security including:

·        the organizational structure of al-Qaida and other terrorist groups

·        the extent of terrorist presence in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East·        al-Qaida’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction

·        the methods of recruitment and locations of recruitment centers

·        terrorist skill sets, including general and specialized operative training

·        and how legitimate financial activities are used to hide terrorist operations.

As Attorney General Holder and I both witnessed during each of our recent visits to GTMO, the military detention facilities at GTMO meet the highest international standards and are in conformity with article 3 of the Geneva Convention. Attorney General Holder gave a glowing report of what he saw during his visit and acknowledged that closing GTMO will be an extensive and difficult process. Yet, President Obama remains adamant about closing GTMO which I believe is an act of political appeasement which puts our nation unnecessarily at risk. 

On February 20th, the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Walsh issued a detailed report following a two-week review and investigation of the facilities and procedures in place at GTMO.  Admiral Walsh’s review team conducted 13 days of investigations on site and included more than 100 interviews with JTF-Guantanamo leadership, support staff, interrogators, and guards. 

The team conducted multiple announced and unannounced inspections of all camps, during daylight as well as nighttime operations.  They reviewed reports, video, discipline records and observed many aspects of daily operations. The team talked to detainees (about 12) and observed daily activities, including internal feedings and interrogations. They solicited a sampling of opinion studies and published works, which reflected the perspective of detainees and other concerned interest groups. They also solicited and carefully considered submissions from many of those interested non-governmental organizations. 

The team examined 27 areas of interest, including:

·        Shelter

·        Clothing

·        food and water

·        practice of religion

·        recreation

·        detainee discipline system

·        protections against violence

·        sensory deprivation and humiliation

·        And human-to-human contact; health care, including the treatment of hunger strikers

The team found the following:

·        Camp 1 is empty,

·        Camp 4 currently holds approximately 80 detainees in a very communal setting with access to about 20 hours of recreation a day,

·        Camp 5 and Camp 6 have been designed by US standards for maximum security detention – detainees are held side-by-side, and are allowed four hours of recreation time per day,  

·        Conditions of confinement at GTMO are in conformity with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions,

·        No evidence of violation of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention,

·        Chain of command responsible for the detention mission at Guantanamo consistently sought to go beyond the minimum standard in complying with Common Article 3,

·        After reviewing In some cases, substantiated evidence where guards had misconduct – found 20 allegations, 14 substantiated, and actions were taken in all of those cases,
·        In each case, the command took appropriate action, and there was discipline and accountability.

The team also recommended:

·        Increasing socialization, or interaction among detainees (human-to-human contact, recreation, intellectual stimulation, group prayer) in order to maintaining humane treatment given of the length of time individuals at GTMO have been detained;

·        DoD needs to continue to properly resource GTMO (funds and personnel) until every detainee departs.

The capabilities, logistics and procedures at GTMO are unequaled anywhere in the United States.  In my home state of Oklahoma, I recently visited the Regional Correction Facility (RCF) at Fort Sill, one of the 17 DoD prison facilities where GTMO detainees could be transferred. 

Though I think it’s an unlikely spot to detain these individuals, my tour of the facilities at Fort Sill clearly showed that bringing these dangerous individuals to the United States, DoD or civilian prison, would require a significant investment and re-structuring of our existing facilities. 

While the President’s executive order to close GTMO was one of his first actions in office, there is still no plan to dispose of the 245 detainees held at GTMO and who, if released, could once again do harm to our homeland, soldiers, and citizens.

The United States continues a global war on terror. Vehemently engaged in armed conflict with terrorist organizations; therefore, we require a location to safely detain and care for these detainees.  As the Afghanistan troop and operation surge commences, there will undoubtedly be an increase in number of terrorists captured and detained If the detention facility at GTMO is closed, some ill equipped United States domestic or overseas prison will have to house these detainees as they await disposition. 

The U.S. Senate spoke in 2007 passing a resolution 94-3 stating, “detainees housed at Guantanamo should not be released into American society, nor should they be transferred stateside into facilities in American communities and neighborhoods.” 

Regardless of where the detainees are held, the United States government has a dual respon­sibility to uphold the rule of law and protect the nation. As Senator McConnell said recently, “These Terrorists Are Right Where They Belong.”  Our duty, and frankly the President’s responsibility is not political posturing, but ensuring the safety and security of the citizens of the United States.