U.S. general:
Obama 'aiding and abetting the enemy', 'Why would we give Gitmo detainees the rights of every American
citizen?', by Greg Corombos, 2/22/16, WND
President Obama is
urging Congress to approve the closing of the detention center at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, allow for the transfer of remaining detainees to the U.S. and try
them in U.S. courts.
In calling for the
policy change, Obama said the move would save taxpayers money without
compromising security. In fact, Obama argues that America is less safe because
of the facility.
“For many years, it’s
been clear that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay does not advance our
national security. It undermines it,” said Obama Tuesday. “This is not just my
opinion. This is the opinion of many in our military. It’s counterproductive to
our fight against terrorists because they use it as propaganda in their efforts
to recruit.”
Retired three-star U.S.
Air Force Gen. Tom McInerney isn’t buying it. “That absolutely false. It’s like,
‘If you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan.’ There is no
truth to that whatsoever,” McInerney told WND and Radio America.
McInerney, who rose to
the third highest position in the Air Force, is also a Fox News military
analyst. He said the U.S. can’t be safer when 30 percent of the detainees
released return to radical groups and continue their efforts to kill Americans
and other enemies.
He said the existence of
the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay doesn’t change the terrorists’ game plan
one iota.
“They’re beheading
people because of their radical ideology of radical Islam, the Quran, the
hadith and Shariah law,” he said. “That’s what motivates those people, not
because they’ve got people in Gitmo.”
The general sees
countless downsides to Obama trying to shutter the camp, and he struggles to
see any good reasons to do it.
He asked, “Why would we
do this and encourage other future radical Islamists to think, ‘Well, it
doesn’t matter if I’m captured, they’re not going to do anything to me’?”
When asked to answer his
own question, McInerney said Obama has committed a series of national security
blunders that make the U.S. more vulnerable.
“I do not know why he
did all the things he does. Why did he exchange Sgt. (Bowe) Bergdahl for five
four-star general equivalents? Why did he not respond in Benghazi and send
reinforcements?” McInerney asked. “Why did he flip to supporting radical
Islamists in 2012? I don’t have those answers, except every one of them ends up
with aiding and abetting the enemy.”
Listen
to the WND/Radio America interview with retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Tom
McInerney:
McInerney also
referenced the Obama administration releasing more than $100 billion in frozen
Iranian assets as part of the Iran nuclear deal, even as Secretary of State
John Kerry admitted some of that money would likely sponsor terrorism.
Obama said the American
people should be reassured that federal courts can handle most of the remaining
cases originating from Guantanamo, but McInerney is outraged that Obama would
extend the constitutional protections enjoyed by all citizens to
America's enemies.
"Why would we give
them the rights of every American citizen? That makes no sense," he said.
"What kind of president do we have that is basically aiding and abetting
the enemy?"
Obama says access to
American courts did not stop the convictions of would-be terrorists such as
attempted shoe bomber Richard Reid, attempted Christmas Day underwear bomber
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and attempted Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad. He
says they were found guilty and pose no threat to the U.S. even though they
remain on U.S. soil.
Does that assuage
McInerney's concerns?
"They were not
caught on the battlefield," he said. "If you're caught on the
battlefield, then you should be treated appropriately. We didn't let the German
and Japanese POWs go before the end of World War II, did we?"
He said closing
Guantanamo would be a huge mistake.
"Who knows? We may
have to put a lot more in there depending how the situation goes in the Middle
East," McInerney said. "We ought to keep them there for the rest of
their lives until the war is over. We should not be releasing any of
them."
Obama will travel to
Cuba in March to highlight the restoration of diplomatic relations between the
long-estranged countries. One of the conditions the U.S. imposed for improved
ties was for Cuba to radically improve its human rights record. That has not
happened, and Cuba now says it not only wants the detention camp shut down but
that it wants the U.S. Navy to abandon Guantanamo Bay altogether.
While the administration
has said that's not on the table, McInerney fears Obama may be open to it. "I
do believe he is, and that's why he's trying to get that number (of detainees)
down. We do not want to give Guantanamo back," he said. "That is a
valuable piece of real estate, even if it isn't a prison. It was a very
important naval gunnery range that we had for many years. So we should not want
to give that back."
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