Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Closing Gitmo: Not So Fast

Announcing the closing of the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay was a symbolic political nod to Barack Obama's supporters that we all knew was coming. He'll announce it during his first week in office because he'll want to preserve the high poll numbers he will inevitably get as our new president.

However, even Obama recognizes that closing Gitmo will not be as simple as kicking everyone out and locking the doors. What do we do with the 250 or so detainees that are still there? They shouldn't come stateside, that's for sure. But this is just one of a host of questions that will have to be answered before Obama's campaign promise becomes reality. As with numerous other issues, we get a lot of talk from Obama, but not much substance on just how he will actually carry out his plans.