Opinion: Obama’s intent to close Gitmo is a threat to national security

Opened in 2002, Guantanamo Bay detention camp was used to detain Muslim militants and captured terrorists from Iraq, Afghanistan and other war-torn areas. Some of the people who are currently being held in the camp are those associated with the attacks on 9/11 and major group members of ISIL.
Former Republican President George W. Bush was the first to propose the act of closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. After receiving disapproval from many Republicans and Democrats, Bush lost the fight.

The 91 remaining detainees being held in the detention camp are high security risks for both the United States and the country in which they originate from. Moving these prisoners onto U.S. soil can put a target on the nation.

The detainees are major leaders of foreign war groups who have targeted or threatened the safety of the United States. The groups in which they associate with are willing to go to any extent to get those being detained back.

When running for the presidency, President Barack Obama made a campaign pledge to close Guantanamo Bay and have the detainees moved onto United States soil. Only minor changes have been made in the process of interrogating, but there has been no act to remove the detainees.

In February, President Obama announced of a plan to transfer the detainees held in the detention camp.

Congress has expressed their opposition to the plan due to the plan’s instability and the expenses that would come along with it.

President Obama’s plan to transfer the detainees to the United States is estimated to cost

$290 million to $475 million. This money would be used to fund already existing prisons in the United States to make them more appropriate for the high security risks that will come along with the detainees.

President Obama does not have an official plan of action that he would take. He does not know which prison is secure enough to house some of the most dangerous people. This unstable plan can put the United States at a high risk.

Chair of the Armed Services Committee, John McCain, calls Obama’s plan “flimsy” because it will put the US citizens in direct threat.

By keeping these terrorists in the United States, the threat of terrorists coming into the U.S. to rescue their group members increases. The government will be bringing the fight against terrorism to the United States, opening up the land to the war that is being fought. This direct threat can put U.S. citizens in danger, especially those who are in the surrounding areas of the prison where the terrorists would be kept.

Those supporting the plan, believe that the detention camp is a violation of a person’s rights and practices cruel and unusual punishment.

The people who are being held captive are those who are trying to kill U.S. officials and citizens and plan on taking over the world. They are not U.S. citizens and are not given the same rights. They are being held in this detention camp for the protection of other people’s lives. The government is trying to keep the greatest threats in the world under control so that the United States and other countries can live in peace. Bringing the terrorists into the United States is giving them easy access to fight the United States.

The government has always tried to keep wars fought off of U.S. soil, but by transferring the detainees into the United States a war is bound to break out.

–Rayna Enriquez