Washington, DC- Congressman Jason Chaffetz said he is not surprised by today’s White House announcement regarding the expected delay in closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Press Secretary Gibbs, acknowledging that the Administration would be unlikely to meet Obama’s January 22 deadline, reportedly said the matter is “more complicated” than the Administration previously thought.
Chaffetz, who recently visited the facility, has been a vocal opponent of plans to close it. “President Obama made a hasty and ill-advised commitment to close Guantanamo Bay, without a clear understanding of what that entailed,” said Chaffetz. “It was purely a political statement. But he is now seeing that the legal, diplomatic, and military issues surrounding that decision defy the easy solution he promised so nonchalantly.”
Gibbs dodged questions about reasons for the delay, saying that the White House was not “obsessing” about meeting the goal of that particular day. Gibbs spoke instead about the importance of improving the United States’ “standing in the world” by closing Guantanamo Bay. He claimed that doing so would improve security in the U.S. as well, without elaborating on how he reaches that conclusion.
“I visited Gitmo this summer, and remain convinced that it is the best option for continuing to house these detainees,” Chaffetz stated. “It’s a very difficult situation, but one for which we’ve already found the right answer. We should worry less about what others think and more about doing what’s right, especially what’s right for the American people,” he added. “Unfortunately the public relations have been handled badly both domestically and abroad. If President Obama wants to improve our global standing on this issue, he should invite our allies and others to visit Gitmo and see just how well we treat these detainees.”
Ironically, it was also reported today that the Pentagon under Obama is increasingly limiting media access to Guantanamo. News media wishing to cover U.S. military commissions, the legal process by which detainees are tried, are having greater difficulty obtaining access to areas of the base where detainees are housed. Even the ACLU is decrying the reduced access, particularly in light of the Obama Administration’s promises of increased transparency and accountability.
“Democrats attacked President Bush on issues of transparency at Guantanamo Bay, but now President Obama has restricted media access even further than Bush did,” Chaffetz remarked. “It’s change all right, but not the kind Americans expect or deserve. It’s a real disappointment."
