Promises

Where Will the New Gitmo Be?

Obama officials tour Michigan prison.

Is it possible to move Guantánamo to Standish, Michigan while saving the local economy? The Associated Press reports Obama administration officials will tour a maximum-security prison 145 miles northwest of Detroit Thursday. The prison is being considered as a destination for terrorism suspects held in Guantánamo Bay, which Obama plans to close by early 2010. The facility is currently in danger of closure due to Michigan state budget cuts, despite the fact that it is Arenac County's largest employer, with about 340 employees, in a region with a 17.3 percent unemployment rate. States including Pennsylvania and California are in talks with Michigan officials about paying to stash their inmates in Standish. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said she'd rather accept prisoners from other states than Guantánamo detainees, and local pressure to save the prison is mounting. White House officials are also eyeing the military penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas as a place to move Guantánamo detainees.