Podcast Interview with Rep. Jane Harman, D-Ca.: Closing Gitmo While Continuing Indefinite Detention is ‘Trading One Black Eye for a New Black Eye’
EmailOn the one year anniversary of President Obama’s executive order to have shuttered the detainee center at Guantanamo Bay by, well, today, we spoke to Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., former ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence and current chair of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence.
Harman was fired up about the decision by the Obama administration’s Guantanamo Task Force’s to recommend 50 current detainees be detained in the U.S. indefinitely.
"Rather than throw out 230 years of history, we could offer the federal courts — provided that they are vigorously pursuing this, the FBI is vigorously pursuing this –a chance to develop new evidence against these folks and try them under our current system of laws,” she said. “And I think that this would be a much better, more appropriate way to go and you know the problem here is that we are training one black eye, that would be the stain of Guantanamo, for a new black eye, and that would be the stain of preventive detention in the United States of America."
The Political Punch Podcast can be downloaded on iTunes or by clicking HERE. The Podcast was produced by Lindsey Ellerson.
Commenting on the missing deadline for the closure of Guantanamo, Harman said, “in hindsight it would have been better to have a more detailed plan in place before this was announced. I was one who celebrated its announcement, I think it is the right thing to do. But, I think most folks now would say, ‘Gee, we should have investigated further before we made the announcement so we knew what we were getting into.’”
I asked her a couple times if she had complete confidence in Admiral Dennis Blair (ret.), the Director of National Intelligence, and both times she refrained from directly answering the question.
"I think the Obama team is a strong team,” she said.”I think it is enormously disappointing that there are, that there continue to be turf fights, for example, between the DNI and the CIA…I don’t really want to get into the blame game of which person isn’t doing enough. But the system, which is what broke down on Christmas day, has to do more. And, the guy in charge of the system is Admiral Blair, and I'm sure he recognizes that the system under his supervision has to do more."
Harman said that the election of Sen.-elect Scott Brown, R-Mass., sent an important message to Congress.
“That election was a referendum on some national issues and the message Congress needs to receive, this is one that I am strongly for, is that people want more bipartisanship and they want polices that can be explained more clearly and I certainly received those messages and I embrace those messages,” she said. “And, on security, let's just understand that the terrorists won't check our party registration before they blow us up and we're in this together. And if that’s a message that is received after the Massachusetts Senate election, I hope it will resonate everywhere."
The Political Punch Podcast can be downloaded on iTunes or by clicking HERE.
-jpt
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Does OBAMA EVER WEAR A FREAKING TIE ANYMORE???
Posted by: ted | January 22, 2010, 1:50 pm 1:50 pm
Good she’s a Democrat.. having used the term ‘black eye’..
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | January 22, 2010, 2:00 pm 2:00 pm
REP Harmon you should have acted in a responsible manner and brought this about much sooner this. Start earning your pay, get off the lazy couch.
Posted by: God hear my prayer | January 22, 2010, 2:13 pm 2:13 pm
Rep Harmon, you should have acted in a responsible manner and brought this about much sooner. Start earning your pay. Get off the lazy, self serving couch.
Posted by: God hear my prayer | January 22, 2010, 2:14 pm 2:14 pm
We don’t hear your name too much REP Harmon. Start doing enough,so we can hear your name more, do your job or the folks that don’t have one will take yours. Be faithful to your party, be faithful to yourself. Do you at “least” have that ability?
Posted by: God hear my prayer | January 22, 2010, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm
We Americans have been complaining about every single, solitary, President since George Washington. We have said every evil that anyone could think of to each President we have ever had. All our Presidents must have done a good job because we are still the strongest country in the world, the safest and the richest. We the people are just greedy, because we are spoiled to live in such a great country. Let’s all say something nice about our country and take pride,I promise you won’t turn into a pumpkin.
Posted by: God hear my prayer | January 22, 2010, 2:28 pm 2:28 pm
I, for one, side with Jane. She must be
a helluva lot smarter than our CinC.
Posted by: Sir Toby Belch | January 22, 2010, 3:19 pm 3:19 pm
Fighting a war with a criminal justice system shows a lack of will to survive .
Posted by: nat turner | January 22, 2010, 3:37 pm 3:37 pm
Does OBAMA EVER WEAR A FREAKING TIE ANYMORE???
Posted by: ted | Jan 22, 2010 1:50:58 PM
My secretaries would think I was drunk and my clients would question my hourly =rate if I came to work without a tie .
Posted by: nat turner | January 22, 2010, 3:38 pm 3:38 pm
Does OBAMA EVER WEAR A FREAKING TIE ANYMORE???
_________________________________
Yes, he does.
Posted by: tierra | January 22, 2010, 4:07 pm 4:07 pm
Fighting a war with a criminal justice system shows a lack of will to survive .
nat turner | Jan 22, 2010 3:37:23 PM
The power to declare war is given ONLY to Congress. This is for good reason – a war without end is a classic way to destroy a democracy ‘for the good of the country’ and, in our system, the surest way for the Executive to seize unconstitutional control. Could you cite when Congress declared war?
Posted by: jhw539 | January 22, 2010, 4:12 pm 4:12 pm
Good she’s a Democrat.. having used the term ‘black eye’..
DontGet818OnMeNow | Jan 22, 2010 2:00:15 PM
That’s a bigger stretch than when the conservative corporate media attacked Obama over “lipstick on a pig”.
Posted by: jhw539 | January 22, 2010, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
Does OBAMA EVER WEAR A FREAKING TIE ANYMORE???
Posted by: ted
did you stop taking your medicine?
all those Bush fools wore ties, fat lot of good that did for the country
Posted by: TTFN | January 22, 2010, 4:24 pm 4:24 pm
3 Al Quaeda attacks on American soil in a year good job there Obama
Posted by: another crisis, another photo-op | January 22, 2010, 4:40 pm 4:40 pm
Obama speaks markets drop 430 points..Thanks Obama..even Barney Frank says your wrong on this one
Posted by: another crisis, another photo-op | January 22, 2010, 4:42 pm 4:42 pm
Obama speaks markets drop 430 points..
_____________________________________
First of all, you should try to be accurate . .. and not lie. The market is down 216 points today – and second, the stock market is up about 25% since Obama took office.
Your agenda to malign the President is showing again.
Posted by: tierra | January 22, 2010, 4:50 pm 4:50 pm
Could you cite when Congress declared war?
Posted by: jhw539 | Jan 22, 2010 4:12:45 PM
They didn’t but they did authorized use of military force September 18 2001 and if you read it the only thing missing is the word WAR and thats really all the kept it from being a formal declaration
Posted by: 'Un-American' | January 22, 2010, 5:12 pm 5:12 pm
“They didn’t but they did authorized use of military force September 18 2001 and if you read it the only thing missing is the word WAR and thats really all the kept it from being a formal declaration”
So war was not declared.
Have we found WMDs yet?
Posted by: Ryan C | January 22, 2010, 5:26 pm 5:26 pm
So war was not declared.
Have we found WMDs yet?
Posted by: Ryan C | Jan 22, 2010 5:26:01 PM
No we didn’t and no we have not I was just answering his question and when you read it like I said that one word was all that was missing. I was trying to find an actual declaration to see what the difference is but ran out of patience but from what I read “Congress shall have power to … declare War”. However, that passage provides no specific format for what form legislation must have in order to be considered a “Declaration of War” nor does the Constitution itself use this term.
Posted by: 'Un-American' | January 22, 2010, 5:41 pm 5:41 pm
Does Obama wear a tie? He probably thinks that without one he might appeal to all the people who are unemployed. LOL
Posted by: Cw | January 22, 2010, 9:02 pm 9:02 pm
LET ME get this straight: GITMO is a “stain”, but if we move these prisoners of war to some institution in the continental U.S., all will be well with world opinion ? How is it that the receiving institution won’t also be a “stain” ? The POWs will like their new home even less than their old.
Posted by: Ron | January 22, 2010, 9:32 pm 9:32 pm
…Ok, so we put the Gitmo patients in San Quentin or Alcatraz -
Posted by: Bill | January 22, 2010, 11:22 pm 11:22 pm
just bring the Gitmo foks here……
Ravalli County, population 35,000, sits about an hour south of Missoula in southwestern Montana.
The Ravalli questionnaire, demands that local officials pledge:
To form and command a county militia of all citizens 18 or older. However, it adds: “Note: Women must serve, but not in a combat capacity unless the men are in danger of being overrun.”
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“To absolutely prohibit all efforts, Federal, State or city, that infringe upon the right to keep and bear arms including the requirement to have a permit to carry a concealed weapon and restrictions on the kinds of weapons one may possess and carry, eg., fully automatic, silenced, length of barrel, length of blade, opening mechanism of a knife, etc.”
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To require federal employees to obtain written permission from the sheriff before approaching local citizens.
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“To prohibit mandatory vaccinations.”
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To prohibit federal employees from collecting census information beyond the number of adults in each home.
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To block all Environmental Protection Agency employees from entering the country. (We should note here that the editor of the Republic tells us he knows of no EPA activity in the county.)
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To use the term ‘peace officer’ in lieu of the current law enforcement officer.’”
Robert Gairing of Stevensville, a town south of Missoula, told the Republic “we need to know definitively whether or not our public officials will defend their oath and our constitutional rights and be willing to take positive constitutional action on our behalf.”
Posted by: iou | January 23, 2010, 1:13 am 1:13 am
CW OF course he does not wear a tie. with his chin so high in the air he would choke to death.
Posted by: rking | January 23, 2010, 12:52 pm 12:52 pm
Have not heard on terroeist claim Gitmo was the reason he joined up to destroy Americans. Seems they all squeal praise be to Allah,as they push the destruct button. Maybe we should be looking more at the real Muslim religion that wants infidels killed,and makes us the infidels. I did not hear Jane say bring the terrorists to California?
Posted by: stormerF2 | January 23, 2010, 1:45 pm 1:45 pm
Closing Gitmo is a brilliant strategy. As soon as it is closed, al Queda will be unable to recruit terrorists and peace and tranquility will prevail. In fact, we should close all prisons to end crime in our country.
Posted by: Sigmonde | January 24, 2010, 7:59 am 7:59 am