GIBBS 1, BOEHNER 0…. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) probably realizes his rhetoric about closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is ridiculous. But now that detainees are being transferred from Gitmo to Thomson, Illinois, Boehner has a story to exploit, whether it makes sense or not.
And with that in mind, Boehner issued a press release asking, “How will importing dangerous terrorists make America safer?”
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answered that question during yesterday’s briefing. Jake Tapper had this report:
“If there are concerns for security reasons, I would hope some of those people would address why they think the military can do what they’re doing at Guantanamo and can’t do it at Thomson,” Gibbs said at his daily briefing today.
Continued Gibbs, “I will say this. I have seen some far crazier comments today — comments from people like John Boehner. Here’s what I would suggest for John Boehner. Call up Leon Panetta or Denny Blair at the CIA or the director of national intelligence. Ask them if he can come down and watch a video put out by Al Qaida senior leadership like — the names that we recognize, (Ayman al-) Zawahiri. Thirty-two times since 2001 and four times this year alone, senior Al Qaida leadership in recruiting videos have used the prison at Guantanamo Bay as a clarion call to bring extremists from around the world to join their effort.” […]
Gibbs today said the move, in closing Guantanamo Bay, will make the country safer, and suggested if Boehner — or anybody — is confused by that, they should go to the members of the previous administration such as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and ask “why they support closing Guantanamo Bay and support today’s decision.”
This should be easy enough for even congressional Republicans to understand.
Of course, I suspect they do understand it — notice, these clowns didn’t whine like children when Bush announced his preference to close Gitmo, too — but hope to play the American public for fools. It’s the height of cynicism.
