but it's a park
The entire problem could be taken care of if Representative John Murtha of Pennsylvania simply switched districts with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi – that way, Murtha’s offer to bring the prisoners of Guantanamo Bay to his district could mean the re-opening of Alcatraz (currently located in Pelosi’s district). Pelosi, however, is not exactly warm to the idea of bringing terrorists to her district, no matter who represents it – not necessarily because they are cold-blooded murdering pond scum, or because they might have to be wrongly afforded the rights of Americans – but because it is a tourist attraction … and a park, sort of.
That this “odd suggestion” is even a matter of discussion at all can be credited – at least in part – to House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, who appeared on Meet The Press Sunday. Boehner was echoing earlier suggestions that “The Rock” be used an alternative prison for the Gitmo detainees now that President Obama has signed an Executive Order closing the facility in Cuba.
From Fox News:
Republican Rep. Bill Young … suggested to White House counsel Greg Craig that the prisoners who could not be released back to their home countries or sent to a third country be put up in “the Rock,” the famous military installation and prison that closed down in 1963 and is now part of the National Park Service.
Asked whether that was a serious proposal, (Nancy) Pelosi said, “It is — no.”
“Perhaps he’s not visited Alcatraz,” Pelosi said of Young while displaying little sense of humor. “Alcatraz is a tourist attraction. It’s a prison that is now sort of like a — it’s a national park.”
That explanation didn’t stop House Minority Leader John Boehner from repeating the suggestion on Sunday, making that point that closing down Guantanamo by year’s end may not be the best plan considering the recidivism rate of terrorist detainees is about 12 percent.
“If liberals believe they ought to go, maybe we ought to open Alcatraz,” Boehner, R-Ohio, told NBC “Meet the Press.” Being reminded that Alcatraz is a national park, Boehner responded, “It’s very secure.”
Recall that John Murtha, who sang the praises of the decision to close Gitmo, extended an invitation to have the terrorists of Guantanamo Bay jailed in his district in Pennsylvania. Bob Layo, President of the Greater Johnstown/Cambria County Chamber of Commerce, agreed that Murtha’s suggestion was a stone cold groove, saying:
“I don’t see any downside. There has to be an added level of security for those types of prisoners, so they would probably build new facilities and add staff.”
Yeah, okay.
Here’s a fair follow-up question …
What the hell are you talking about?
Can someone – anyone -answer this simple question: If there already exists a more-than-sufficient, extremely-secure facility in which to house these extremely dangerous individuals – namely Guantanamo Bay – why on earth would anyone in their right mind think that the best thing to do is move them out?
Listen up, Dems … I’ll keep it as monosyllabic as I can … This is not Abu-Grahib.
Honestly, I do not know if the suggestion to re-open Alcatraz is a realistic one, or if it is just an attempt by Republicans to goad the majority party a bit (which is a good thing), or even a way of attempting to illustrate the absolute absurdity – and blatant irresponsibility – of closing Guantanamo Bay.
But whatever it is, I’m okay with it.
In other news, Democrats cannot be trusted with national security.
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Roman Around 