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Gitmo Going.....Going....Going ???

Ricci WrightRicci Wright Member Posts: 8,260 ✭✭
edited July 2015 in Politics
Twice this week I've heard comments on Gitmo. John Kerry saying something to the effect that he realized Cuba wanted the base but they would have to discuss that at a later date and today Josh the White House mouth piece said they were still looking at closing the prison. They are gonna do it. They must really hate America. I can see no other reason for the decisions they make. They can't really be that stupid can they??

Comments

  • Don McManusDon McManus Member Posts: 23,458 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Why is returning Gitmo to Cuba stupid?

    The only real purpose it has ever served is the prison set up after the attacks of 11 September, 2001.

    There are just over 100 prisoners there now. How much are we willing to spend to keep a facility open for 100 people?
    Freedom and a submissive populace cannot co-exist.

    Brad Steele
  • Ricci WrightRicci Wright Member Posts: 8,260 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    "The only real purpose it has ever served is the prison set up after the attacks of 11 September, 2001" Appearently not everyone agrees with you: A defense official said the strategic importance of the Guantanamo naval base is increasing based on Moscow's announcement in November of plans to conduct strategic bomber patrols over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. The increased bomber flights are part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear saber rattling Intelligence officials have said there are indications that Russia may seek access to Cuban and Venezuelan air bases for the regional bomber patrols. Retired Adm. James Stavridis, former commander of the U.S. Southern Command, said the administration should not give away the base, currently the location of the controversial prison for al Qaeda and other Islamist terrorists."Guantanamo Bay Naval Station has immense strategic value above and beyond its reputation as a detention facility," Stavridis told the Free Beacon. "It is the logistic, planning, surveillance, and basing linchpin for the U.S. Fourth Fleet."The naval facility also is "crucial to the military for disaster relief, humanitarian work, medical diplomacy, and counter-narcotics," he added, noting they are "all key missions for the U.S. Navy in Latin America and the Caribbean."The U.S. should do all in its power to maintain its legal control over the base," said Stavridis, a former NATO commander and current dean of Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
  • 11b6r11b6r Member Posts: 16,588 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Gitmo is 45 square MILES of naval base. One very small section houses the prison. The rest is a naval base. Doing Navy things. Was there before the prison.

    Closing Gitmo because you do not need the prison is like scrapping your car because you no longer need the cup holder.
  • Don McManusDon McManus Member Posts: 23,458 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Ricci Wright
    "The only real purpose it has ever served is the prison set up after the attacks of 11 September, 2001" Appearently not everyone agrees with you: A defense official said the strategic importance of the Guantanamo naval base is increasing based on Moscow's announcement in November of plans to conduct strategic bomber patrols over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. The increased bomber flights are part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear saber rattling Intelligence officials have said there are indications that Russia may seek access to Cuban and Venezuelan air bases for the regional bomber patrols. Retired Adm. James Stavridis, former commander of the U.S. Southern Command, said the administration should not give away the base, currently the location of the controversial prison for al Qaeda and other Islamist terrorists."Guantanamo Bay Naval Station has immense strategic value above and beyond its reputation as a detention facility," Stavridis told the Free Beacon. "It is the logistic, planning, surveillance, and basing linchpin for the U.S. Fourth Fleet."The naval facility also is "crucial to the military for disaster relief, humanitarian work, medical diplomacy, and counter-narcotics," he added, noting they are "all key missions for the U.S. Navy in Latin America and the Caribbean."The U.S. should do all in its power to maintain its legal control over the base," said Stavridis, a former NATO commander and current dean of Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.


    While I do not pretend to have the knowledge that these flag level politicians possess, the stated mission is nebulous.

    How does a physical presence with 100 miles of U.S. territory do anything regarding Russian overflights of the Caribbean? How may 100s of millions a year must we spend to involve the U.S. Navy I 'military for disaster relief, humanitarian work, medical diplomacy, and counter-narcotics'?

    We need to streamline our military, and this includes the Navy. IMO, a better argument is required to save this sacred cow.
    Freedom and a submissive populace cannot co-exist.

    Brad Steele
  • DaveJDaveJ Member Posts: 395 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If it closes........the Israeli interrogators that have been torturing prisoners there for the last ten years or so will be out of work.
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