Last week, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) continued his campaign to fight the Pentagon’s assessment of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth as a potential site to relocate terrorists who are currently being held at the detention centers at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (GITMO), discussing his concerns with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.
“I relayed my opposition to the relocation of GITMO detainees to Fort Leavenworth or to any other site on the mainland” Roberts said. “Secretary Carter told me that Fort Leavenworth is neither the preferred nor the determined alternative for relocation. The secretary indicated additional sites will be reviewed.”
Roberts has reiterated on several occasions that he blocked a similar transfer proposal for moving detainees to Fort Leavenworth in 2009, saying he plans “to use all tools of the Senate to fight any relocation of terrorists to the mainland.”
Roberts has continually battled the Obama Administration’s efforts to transfer Guantanamo detainees to the mainland, particularly to Fort Leavenworth in his home state. Due to high security risks and financial costs, the senator has strongly advised against closing the current detainment facilities at GITMO. He has also cosponsored the Detaining Terrorists to Protect America Act, which would prohibit, for two years, the transfer of any detainees determined to be of medium to high risk. The legislation would also ban transfers to Yemen, where dozens of the 116 remaining Guantanamo detainees are originally from.