Post by achebeautiful on Jun 23, 2007 23:13:27 GMT -5
Hunter Asks President To Keep Guantanamo Open
EL CAJON, Calif. -- Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, said Friday that he sent a letter to President George W. Bush stating his opposition to any "premature closing" of the terrorist detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"It is my view that Guantanamo serves an essential national security function," Hunter wrote. "The danger that these detainees pose is indisputable."
Hunter, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination and is the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, was reacting to reports that the Bush administration is considering closing Guantanamo.
The facility at the site of a Navy base has been used since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks because the administration has not wanted to confer the same rights on enemy combatants as provided to regular federal prisoners.
Hunter said that if the detainees were transferred to federal prison, they would be given those increased rights.
"I think this is a mistake," Hunter said at a news conference. "This is a step backward in the war on terror."
Many Democrats, human rights groups and foreign governments have complained about the existence of the facility and called for its closure. But Hunter said closing the center would be "an implicit admission that we're somehow brutalizing people at Guantanamo, and we're not."
The congressman said numerous organizations and legislators have visited Guantanamo to check conditions for the prisoners. The Koran is broadcast five times daily, medical care is the equal of any Ameri#an family's HMO, and high-quality food is served, he said.
EL CAJON, Calif. -- Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, said Friday that he sent a letter to President George W. Bush stating his opposition to any "premature closing" of the terrorist detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"It is my view that Guantanamo serves an essential national security function," Hunter wrote. "The danger that these detainees pose is indisputable."
Hunter, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination and is the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, was reacting to reports that the Bush administration is considering closing Guantanamo.
The facility at the site of a Navy base has been used since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks because the administration has not wanted to confer the same rights on enemy combatants as provided to regular federal prisoners.
Hunter said that if the detainees were transferred to federal prison, they would be given those increased rights.
"I think this is a mistake," Hunter said at a news conference. "This is a step backward in the war on terror."
Many Democrats, human rights groups and foreign governments have complained about the existence of the facility and called for its closure. But Hunter said closing the center would be "an implicit admission that we're somehow brutalizing people at Guantanamo, and we're not."
The congressman said numerous organizations and legislators have visited Guantanamo to check conditions for the prisoners. The Koran is broadcast five times daily, medical care is the equal of any Ameri#an family's HMO, and high-quality food is served, he said.