Obama Puts Money to Close GITMO in the Afghanistan War Supplemental

[kpete]

Source: The Wasington Note

Obama Puts Money to Close GTMO in the Afghanistan War Supplemental
By Spencer Ackerman 2/1/10 3:03 PM

So the budget is out. But where’s the roughly $150 million needed for the Obama administration to buy the Thomson Correction Center from Illinois? That’s the necessary step for closing Guantanamo Bay this year, as the administration desires: Without the money to buy Thomson, the government has nowhere to transfer the remaining Guantanamo detainees, so the prison stays open and everyone’s unhappy except for conservatives who want to keep the place running. But for the first time in this very flawed process, the Obama administration is showing signs of playing hardball. The money to close the facility is in next year’s Afghanistan war supplemental.

Robert Hale, the Pentagon comptroller, just made that announcement in a budget briefing that’s still going on. Basically, the fiscal 2011 budget request for the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — that’s $159.3 billion, by the way, total — contains a $350 million “transfer” fund that would allow the administration all aspects of shuttering the detention facility in Cuba, Hale said, including the purchase of Thomson. And, repeating a call made by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Hale called on Congress to pass the supplemental “by spring — so we can meet all the needs of our troops.”

That amounts to a dare to congressional Republicans. If you try to filibuster money for closing Guantanamo, you’ll be denying the troops in the field with the money they need to succeed in Afghanistan. The Bush administration repeatedly denounced budgetary obstructionism on the war by congressional Democrats — especially during the summer of 2007 when they tried to stop the Iraq surge — as a slight to the troops. Gates was in his same chair for some of that, and now he’s basically saying he’s not afraid to say the same thing to the GOP. Their move.


Read more: http://washingtonindependent.com/75421/obama-puts-money-to-close-gtmo-in-the-afghanistan-war-supplemental

[NYC_SKP]

1. This is brilliant! n/t

[DonCoquixote]

2. Finally

The GOP gets a taste of it's own medicine.

[rgbecker]

3. OOOOBBBAAAMMMMAAAAA!

[JDPriestly]

4. Great! Keep the Republicans busy.

[Goldstein1984]

5. Here's what I hope is happening...

Obama just told his staff, by whom he has been most dreadfully served, that he was going back to being the man he was during the campaign.

If that's the case, then I'm going to enjoy being the Obama supporter I was during the campaign.

[Mari333]

6. so, if the prisoners at Gitmo are moved to Illinois is it just a new Gitmo

with no lawyers, judicial revue, or right to trial?
and I want to see Dems stand up and fight against ALL money being spent on Afghanistan's contiuance of occupation.
and I want to know how much is being spent on Mercenaries.
and I hope Obama does NOT get his Afghanistan Occupation money for the Corporate Defense Dept.
bring the troops home and give the people in Gitmo a fair trial, and stop the goddamned occupation.
unrec.

[Luciferous]

10. +1

[Grassy Knoll]

7. Play ball !!!

[Demeter]

8. Be Still, My Beating Heart

Say, isn't that the part of the budget freeze? If not, then it will surely be compromised away in the spirit of "bipartisanship".

This is where I came in...I've seen how it ends.

[Historic NY]

9. Ye of little faith.

[Krashkopf]

11. Didn't Obama campaign AGAINST funding wars through SUPPLEMENTALS

I'm pretty sure he did.

[Toots]

13. In fact he made a solemn pledge he would not use supplemental spending for war.

I guess his word is not what I hoped it would be..

[Solly Mack]

12. k/r

[Soylent Brice]

14. i'm torn on this.

creative idea, and it's good that the Gitmo closing can finally happen, but the money is coming from a bill going towards more war.

i am relunctantly happy about this news.

K&R