Jan 5, 2010 11:48pm
Closing Arguments: Rethinking Guantanamo?
EmailDespite his ongoing pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, President Obama today said that no more detainees will be transferred to Yemen due to what he called an "unsettled situation" there. Nearly half of the 198 remaining detainees at Guantanamo are from that country. So tonight, we ask: Given the Christmas Day security threat and new focus on terror training in Yemen, should the president postpone the planned closure of the detention facility itself? Tell us what you think. You can follow "Nightline" anytime on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Nightline.
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Yes, it is time to rethink closing Guantanamo. Especially in light of the recent releasees who on the internet applauded the attempted suicide bomber with the bomb in his underwear. We ought to get those people back to Guantanamo. Obviously they are terrorists. How many more are terrorists that we gave the benefit of the doubt? However, we also don’t want to make our friends enemies either. Somehow we need to be accurate in discerning who we need to keep as prisoners of war.
Posted by: Tracy E. Mc Govern | January 6, 2010, 12:11 am 12:11 am
We need to be MORE accurate in discerning who we need to keep as prisoners of war.
Posted by: Tracy E. Mc Govern | January 6, 2010, 12:12 am 12:12 am
Closing Guantanamo was never a good idea, prisoners of war have no place in the criminal justice system.
Posted by: AJ WHITE | January 6, 2010, 12:18 am 12:18 am
We are crazy to release these prisoners who return to the middle east and rejoin the terrorists despite saying they would do otherwise.
Read the Chicago Tribune article from Jan.3,2010 (front page of Nation and World section that explains how this is happening.
Posted by: Sharie Freudenberger | January 6, 2010, 12:25 am 12:25 am
Time to take another look at closing Guantanamo. I do not beleive that closing Guantanamo is the right thing to do.
Posted by: Rae Simon | January 6, 2010, 12:25 am 12:25 am
Closing Guantanamo is OK but we should never release any Alkaeda prisoners to go into any irresponsible country. They should be sent to some isolated area where there willl be no interaction with any human being. In other words try them and give them their due but they should never be left free.
Posted by: PMoriasi | January 6, 2010, 12:26 am 12:26 am
Guantanamo is the best place to keep these prisoners. Regardless of where they intend to send them, they should not be returned to Yemen. Have we lost our common sense in this type of discernment?
Posted by: Gordon Leathers | January 6, 2010, 12:28 am 12:28 am
MAKE NO MISTAKE, THESE POW’S ARE ENEMIES OF THE WEST & ARE DETERMINED TO DESTROY US – AS A NATION & AS INDIVIDUALS. WE MUST TREAT THIS SITUATION AS AN “ALL OUT WAR”, BECAUSE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.
Posted by: H.SCHROETER | January 6, 2010, 12:32 am 12:32 am
Yes, re-think it. Then move it way to the back burner. If there here on US soil something could go wrong and they get let go.
Posted by: Lee Martin | January 6, 2010, 12:33 am 12:33 am
The detainees should NOT be sent to Yemen!! Keep Guantanamo open please!
Posted by: Julie D | January 6, 2010, 12:38 am 12:38 am
Why close Guantanamo? There is no
safer place for America than 90 miles
from our shore. It keeps the American haters from setting foot on our
land. What is the purpose
of the closing? Can’t our justice
system work over there?
Posted by: NEAL | January 6, 2010, 12:46 am 12:46 am
Bad people should not be where they can interact with innocent people.We should learn a lesson from all horror committed by repeat offenders.Given a chance they will do it again.
Posted by: W.Terry | January 6, 2010, 12:49 am 12:49 am
Yes Guantanamo needs to stay open. It makes no sense to close it; because it is as perfect to imprison terrorists as Yemen is to train them. We are in a war! And we can only hope that Mr. Obama finally comes to his senses, i.e. focus on the economy and terrorism.
Stop wasting the nations treasure on expanding government into healthcare, climate control and other phoney issues. With the national debt at 12.4 trillion dollars we are now a nation living on borrowed time! We are at risk, yet our waster in chief keeps traveling the world with the biggest carbon foot print of them all. Mr. President, stay in the Oval Office and discharge your sworn duty with the personal responsibility required under the constitution of the United States of America! Please!!
Posted by: Bill Weber | January 6, 2010, 1:04 am 1:04 am
They do not need to close Guantanamo. These are prisoners of war, not shop lifters. Treat them as wartime criminals and put them through the military justice system. They do not need life in prison at our expense.
Posted by: Patricia Lowery | January 6, 2010, 1:24 am 1:24 am
No, Gitmo is the fuel for these terrorist. Gitmo needs to be Closed, as the saddest chapter in our Foreign policy. Bush “scooped” up innocents in their lands and brought them there. Then released them without charge back to Yemen. The majority of the terrorist come from Yemen. These people should be held in our very good SuperMax prisons, and NOT returned to Yemen until the Yemeni force Al Qaeda out of Yemen. And you think the terrorist is angry…you damn right…we know that the two that was released back to Yemen is now recuiting and participating in other attacks on us. GITMO SHOULD CLOSE DUE TO THE TORTURE POLICIES AND THE HYPOCRISY OF THE U.S.
Posted by: sara | January 6, 2010, 1:32 am 1:32 am
Yes, I believe the President should re-think closing Guantanamo. It is the the best place for the prisoners that are there, just staff it better.
Posted by: Beatrice | January 6, 2010, 2:11 am 2:11 am
Yes, they should rethink it!! Why did they want to close it in first place anyway?!!! What did they expect to achieve by closing it?!!!
Posted by: R. Thomas | January 6, 2010, 3:12 am 3:12 am
They already have terrorist prisoners on American soil and have had them here for several years now.
And as far as the prison in Illinois or Indiana that they were talking about a week or two ago? If the people living there want the jobs and are willing to take care of them I really don’t see how its any of your business if you don’t actually live there.
Posted by: jan | January 6, 2010, 5:32 am 5:32 am
Its only common sense that we keep open
Gitmo. That is the reason Obama will
close it. He will never admit he has
made a mistake and no matter what the
consequence,he won’t back down. Too
bad for the citizens of this country.
Posted by: wis134 | January 6, 2010, 6:39 am 6:39 am
Yes, Guantanamo should remain open, not just temporarily, but permanently. Why on earth would Obama want to close it? We need it and do not have a better option.
Posted by: Proud Native American and Angry Independent Voter | January 6, 2010, 11:53 am 11:53 am
KEEP IT OPEN!!!
IF WE CLOSE IT WHERE WILL ALL THE TERRIRISTS GO?
PRPBABLY BOMBING AND KILLING EVEN MORE BROTHERS AND SISTESRS.
Posted by: MrT | June 25, 2010, 4:35 am 4:35 am