Roberts, Scott warn of perils if Guantanamo Bay detainees moved to mainland

In response to President Obama’s recent announcement that his administration is moving forward with its plan to transfer detainees at Guantanamo Bay to facilities within the U.S., Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Tim Scott (R-SC) published an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal last week to express their concerns with the proposal.

“White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said recently that the Obama administration is in the ‘final stages of drafting a plan to safely and responsibly’ close the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay,” Roberts and Scott said in the op-ed. “Our home states of Kansas and South Carolina are being considered as potential sites for housing the enemy combatants transferred from Guantanamo. Defense Department officials visited Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on Aug. 14 and will be visiting the Naval Brig in Charleston, S.C., on Monday to survey the facilities.

“The notion that Kansas, South Carolina or any other state would be an ideal home for terrorist detainees is preposterous,” the duo said. “Transferring these prisoners to the mainland puts the well-being of states in danger, posing security risks to the public and wasting taxpayer dollars. The detention facilities at Guantanamo are doing a fantastic job of holding these terrorists.”

The senators reiterated the fact that Fort Leavenworth is on the Missouri River, adjacent to a public railroad, only 16 miles from Kansas City International Airport, and surrounded by schools and homes. Charleston’s Naval Consolidated Brig is adjacent to several residential neighborhoods, is less than a mile from a school, is close to the Port of Charleston and Charleston International Airport, and is surrounded by military facilities.

“Closing Guantanamo Bay isn’t taking the fight to the enemy; it’s bringing it home,” the senators said. “Of serious concern is that there is no way to control who the terrorists would attract to our communities. We should be doing everything possible to destroy homegrown terrorism, not encouraging it.”