Coming Soon: The New Guantanamo

Where will it be?

Obama's unequivocal statements on the Gitmo closing are, shall we say, evolving: here's the newest stuff from this morning.



ABC News:

"I think it's going to take some time and our legal teams are working in consultation with our national security apparatus as we speak to help design exactly what we need to do," Obama said in an exclusive "This Week" interview with George Stephanopoulos, his first since arriving in Washington.

Translation, it's not going to happen this year. And we're not sure what to do.

"It is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize," the president-elect explained. "Part of the challenge that you have is that you have a bunch of folks that have been detained, many of whom may be very dangerous who have not been put on trial or have not gone through some adjudication. And some of the evidence against them may be tainted even though it's true. And so how to balance creating a process that adheres to rule of law, habeas corpus, basic principles of Anglo-American legal system, by doing it in a way that doesn't result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up."

That's funny because during the campaign you made it sound so easy, but as you are a transformative sort of politician, we know you wouldn't have engaged in campaign politics... right?

As for the second part: complete hilarity. Let me translate: "We know these guys are guilty as hell and dangerous, and we need to find a way to make sure we find a way that results in guilty verdicts without looking like we are prejudging them, even though we already have."

But Obama said unequivocally that it will close. "I don't want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our Constitution. That is not only the right thing to do but it actually has to be part of our broader national security strategy because we will send a message to the world that we are serious about our values."

So since Obama has painted himself in the corner but now realizes he can't just release victims of US imperialism (cold blooded terrorists) (no one else wants them), what to do?

My prediction: We set up a new Guantanamo somewhere else, and Obama keeps his campaign promises without having a politically risky aspect of releasing known terrorists to kill more Americans.

Where will it be? Someplace under US control yet isolated. The Aleutian Islands? Guam?