Boehner Raises Alarm Over Gitmo Detainees

House Majority Leader John Boeher penned an op-ed that appeared this morning in USA Today urging Americans to support the "Keep Terrorists Out of America Act". This legislation aims to prevent the transfer of detainees from Gitmo to the United States. It would require the President to seek approval from a state's Governor and legislature before transferring any Gitmo prisoner to a U.S. facility. Obama would also have to demonstrate to Congress that prisoners don't represent a security threat. The Act is an attempt to undermine the President's pledge to close Gitmo within the first year of his presidency. And the op-ed is an exercise in fear-mongering. Boehner writes:

Unless the president reverses course, more than 200 of the world's most dangerous terrorists soon will be released or transferred from the Guantanamo Bay prison. Where they will end up is anyone's guess; even the administration won't say. Nonetheless, it's possible that some may be imported into America, the country they have dedicated their lives to destroying.

That's alarming to an overwhelming majority of Americans, a growing consensus in Congress, and even Democratic Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, who opposed it as Kansas governor. That's why House Republicans are building support for the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act.

These are not common criminals. Not when you consider that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), suspected mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and Abu Zubaydah, who allegedly trained the hijackers, are detained at Guantanamo. Simply put, importing them would be a strategic mistake and an incredible risk — one that Americans have every right to be concerned about, which is why more and more states and communities are speaking out against it.

Just imagine the strain — on financial, manpower and other resources — of "hosting" terrorists like KSM and Zubaydah in our prisons. Importing them could give terrorists the same rights as citizens, increasing their chances of being released by federal judges. And wherever they're transferred would undoubtedly become a prime target for other terrorists seeking to become martyrs.

Boehner, it seems, would like to believe that closing Gitmo would result in terrorists running free in U.S. cities. Leaving aside for now the question of whether all the remaining Gitmo detainees are actually terrorists, Boehner shows very little faith in the American prison system, the same one that managed to successfully hold Timothy McVeigh for several years. He also implies that federal judges would flippantly release dangerous criminals. Obama has already agreed to use a revised version of Military Commissions for trying Gitmo detainees, making it unlikely that federal judges would end up with jurisdication over these men. Boehner's populist op-ed arouses unnecessary levels of fear and concern about deeply unlikely scenarios. Really Mr. Boehner, no President of either party would knowingly allow terrorists to roam around American communities. And to our knowledge, Gitmo hasn't become the target of terrorist activity. Maybe you've been watching too much 24.