Report
15 December 2009
The Obama administration took an important step towards closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay today by announcing that dozens of terrorism suspects currently being held there will be transferred to a prison in Thomson, Illinois. When retrofitted for greater security, the Thomson Correctional Center will have the same enhanced security attributes as facilities that already house terrorists on American soil. Local leaders, residents, prison guards - including former Guantanamo Bay prison guards – and their unions fully support the president’s decision and have expressed both their confidence in the prison system’s ability to hold the prisoners and their excitement about the jobs and federal money that will come with the transfer.
Report
14 December 2009
The Obama administration has made it clear that in order to successfully advance American security and interests in the world, U.S. foreign policy must be grounded in America’s best principles. This is a positive break from the previous Bush administration, which too often defined American principles as values to be put to the side in the pursuit of a narrowly defined set of ambitions that often undermined American security.
Report
16 November 2009
This weekend, with developments on civilian and military trials for Guantanamo detainees, a secure prison facility to house some of them in the US and reforms to the military prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, the Administration showed significant progress toward a comprehensive plan that uses military and law enforcement tools to keep Americans safe. National security experts, military and prosecutors, and the people of Thomson, Illinois responded positively.
Report
13 November 2009
Today, the Obama administration announced that five terrorists tied to the 9/11 attacks will be brought to justice in civilian courts. Our nation has a strong tradition of convicting some of the world’s worst terrorists in civilian courts. From the mastermind of the first World Trade Center attack to Zacarias Moussaoui—the "20th Hijacker"—to the shoe-bomber Richard Reid, our prison and court systems have a long track record of keeping our communities safe while bringing dangerous terrorists to justice. The Obama administration is applying the same record of success to the Mastermind of 9/11. In fact, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where these men will be tried, has a long track record of prosecuting terrorists, including Ramzi Yousef.
Report
4 November 2009
Since 9/11, American courts have convicted and imprisoned nearly 200 terrorists. In the same time period, the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay has convicted only three detainees, while undermining the international respect and partnership we need to fight terrorism around the world. By closing Guantanamo and bringing terror suspects held there to America for prosecution, the Obama administration is attempting to succeed where the Bush administration largely failed: bring prosecutable detainees held at Guantanamo to justice. America’s justice system has a long history of successfully holding and trying terrorist suspects. From the mastermind of the first World Trade Center attack to Zacarias Moussaoui—the “20th Hijacker”—to the shoe-bomber Richard Reid, our prison and court systems have a long track record of keeping our communities safe while bringing dangerous terrorists to justice. The Obama administration is applying the same record of success to detainees held at Guantanamo. Today more than 120 national security and political leaders, from retired generals and former prosecutors to GOP strategist Grover Norquist, released a letter supporting this approach – because it will not only bring terrorists to justice, but also make America safer.
Report
25 August 2009
Yesterday brought more clarity on the failed interrogation and detention policies of the Bush administration—including new insight into the torture and abuse that permeated their prosecution of the “War on Terror.” But it also brought forward important reforms from the Obama administration: looking at best practices from professional interrogators in the FBI, CIA and elsewhere to create policies that will make America more secure and prevent abuses.
Report
27 July 2009
On Friday, one of the GOP’s top national security voices in the House of Representatives, Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), contradicted the leadership of his own party by acknowledging the reality that U.S. prisons are capable of holding Guantanamo detainees. Leading conservatives have launched numerous political attacks over the last few months arguing that closing Guantanamo would bring terrorists into our backyards. These arguments, as President Obama said in May, are not “rational.”
News
Politico 14 May 2009
Report
7 May 2009
Today, John Boehner and the Republican House leadership are introducing legislation to keep Guantanamo detainees from being transferred to facilities in the United States. They claim that this serves American security. But the reality is that our criminal justice system has a long history of holding hardened terrorists successfully, including the perpetrator of the first World Trade Center attacks, numerous 9/11 conspirators, the Shoe Bomber and Timothy McVeigh. But John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and other Republicans in Congress continue to claim that the men and women who run our prisons and help keep America safe can’t do their jobs.
Report
13 January 2009
On his first day in office, President-elect Obama will announce that
his administration will close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay.
His announcement represents a clear repudiation of President Bush’s
approach to detention policies that have failed to bring terrorists to
justice and have damaged the credibility of our justice system and our
democracy in the eyes of the world.
