The U.S. House of Representatives has voted 258-163 to prohibit the transfer of suspected terrorists from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba to the United States.
Whilst the vote, in which 88 Democrat members of the House defied their leaders and President Obama, was on a nonbinding recommendation, as the
Hartford Courant reports it resulted in the delay of the announcement of a House-Senate agreement on a bill relating to homeland security funding.
With every possibility of the recommendation eventually becoming law it delivers a further blow to the plans of the Obama administration to close Guantanamo by January 2010, plans it has already acknowledged are in jeopardy.
Reuters confirms that Congress does currently allow those detained at Guantanamo to come to the U.S. for trial, with certain restrictions, but it looks increasingly unlikely that high-security prisons in the U.S. will be used in the future to house some or all of the 223 terror suspects that remain in Cuba.
Hal Rogers was the Republican member of the House who sponsored the measure which was passed on Thursday and he believes that the detainees at Guantanamo are not deserving of the legal protection offered by the American system, saying simply "They are not criminal defendants. They are prisoners in a war". He added:
There is no reason these terrorists, who pose a serious and documented threat to our nation, cannot be brought to justice right where they are in Cuba. I certainly think that is where the American people stand on this issue — they don't want these terrorists in their hometowns
House Appropriations Committee Chairman and Democrat David Obey agreed with some of what Mr Rogers said, opining that the detainees did not necessarily deserve legal protection but effectively were still entitled to it. He went on:
I refuse to believe that our law enforcement officials, our prison officials and our Justice Department officials are not skilled enough and thoughtful enough to imprison these thugs in high-security facilities at minimal or no danger to our citizens and our communities
With bills on the Senate floor containing both no restrictions on Guantanamo transfers and outright bans on the entry of detainees in to the U.S., even for trial, the issue appears to be a long way from resolution.
Those who support the closure of Guantanamo believe that it remaining open further damages the reputation of the U.S. around the world
Other concerns relate to the countries detainees may travel to after their release, be it their home country or another willing to take them. If the country accepting them is unstable,
Reuters cites the example of Yemen, if they truly are terrorists they may simply return to the activities for which they were detained.
One piece of good news for the Obama administration did come out of the House on Thursday when backing was given to its refusal to allow the Pentagon to release pictures of terrorist suspects being abused.
