Barack Obama's pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay prison by January 2010 is looking more unlikely by the day. The US Senate and House of Representatives have both overwhelmingly voted to prevent the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the US.
This latest episode just shows how hard it is for Americans to exorcise the demons of Bush's years in power. It's not just the logistical quagmire that comes with having to find a home for 200 or so presumed terrorists. Just as bad is the paranoia. Six months after Bush's farewell, after Obama's election, Americans are still scared.
US Senators and Congressmen can't honestly believe that it would be impossible to find a safe home for 200 or so prisoners in the United-States. They're smart individuals, and objectively, they would all agree that transferring 200 men from Cuba to a high security US detention centre would be a feasible undertaking for the most powerful nation in the world. But they're still scared. They still have that impulse of the Bush years that hears the word "terrorist" and immediately associates it with "panic.
Dear Obama: Good luck!
1 comment:
I think what is happening with Guantanamo is a demonstration of the power of the U.S. Military. President Obama is finding that it is very difficult to make the changes he has promised.
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