Illinois Gitmo? Gitmo North? White House Pushes Back on Branding

"I think it's called Thomson," Gibbs said. It is. The name of the state of Illinois facility that President Obama wants the federal government to buy is the Thomson Correctional Center, which sits nearly vacant about 150 miles west of Chicago, near the Mississippi River. But as soon as the plan to move detainees now held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba was made public, Thomson became branded as the "Illinois Gitmo" or "Gitmo North." Gibbs doesn't want those nicknames to stick. But as long as Thomson will hold some detainees without charges or trial, I said to Gibbs, could Thomson become a rallying cry?

"Not nearly to the degree -- not in any way, shape, or form nearly to the degree that currently exists," he responded. I understand why he is concerned about the branding. As the White House was rolling out the announcement on the acquisition of Thomson, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was over at the Capitol saying, "Gitmo North is something the American people are clearly opposed to."

Obama on Tuesday made it official, ordering the the Bureau of Prisons to buy Thomson in order to house federal prisoners and Guantanamo detainees. Obama's team in his adopted home state -- Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Gov. Pat Quinn -- helped get the ball rolling on the project by inviting the Obama White House to consider purchasing Thomson. A plus for the White House was that there was no opposition to the transaction from key state and local officials. Quinn has the sole power to sell the prison and the mayor of Thomson (population 600), Jerry Hebeler, was eager to get the facility open and stimulate employment in the job-starved region.

Obama wants to close the Guantanamo prison in order to keep al-Queda and other terrorist groups from using it as a rallying point and recruiting tool. Shutting it down was a central campaign pledge, and Obama, on his first day in office, signed an executive order calling for its closure by Jan. 22, 2010. In November, he conceded that the deadline wasn't achievable. As Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Nov. 18, "We had unexpected difficulties in trying to reach that goal."

But Guantanamo, with about 200 prisoners, is being gradually emptied. Five detainees accused of masterminding the 9/11 attacks will be sent to New York City to stand trial; others are being deported as the U.S. finds countries willing to take them; some will be sent to other parts of the nation for federal trials. The group being sent to Thomson -- numbering between 50 and 100 (the White House won't confirm the total; these numbers were given to Durbin and other Illinois lawmakers) -- fall into two categories: those to be tried in a military commission and those who will, for the time being, be held indefinitely without being charged.The White House confirmed for the first time Tuesday its intent to move the military commission courtroom in Guantanamo to Thomson. It's not known how many detainees would face a military tribunal.

"In taking this action, we are removing from terrorist organizations around the world a recruiting tool that Guantanamo has come to symbolize in recruiting terrorists and potential terrorists, warriors of the future that would harm our nation and seek to alter the way we live," said National Security Adviser James Jones, who was among those briefing Durbin and Quinn at the White House on Tuesday. He spoke outside the West Wing, flanked by Durbin and Quinn.

Some Illinois lawmakers disagreed. Rep. Mark Kirk, a Republican who is running for the Senate and is the front-runner for the GOP nomination -- said on Fox News: "Under this proposal, we are not closing Gitmo; we're just moving it to America's heartland. And I think that poses unnecessary risk." On ABC, Rep. Peter Roskam, another Republican, echoed that view: "The administration is not closing Guantanamo; they are simply moving Guantanamo to Illinois." As Gibbs was briefing reporters at the White House, Roskam, Kirk -- indeed, all seven Republicans in the Illinois congressional delegation, plus GOP House leaders -- were holding a press conference over at the Capitol critical of the Thomson purchase.

For Durbin and Quinn, the cash and jobs involved in the deal are part of a potent argument for selling Thomson to the federal government. Quinn told me he expects the state to recoup at least the $145 million spent in 2001 to build the prison. "People are desperate for good jobs," Durbin said. "And the jobs we are talking about here are some of the best." An employment forecast prepared by the Council of Economic Advisers projects 3,000 jobs will be directly or indirectly generated by the project.

Whether the terms "Illinois Gitmo" and "Gitmo North" stick remains to be seen. It will depend in part on how many detainees sent to Thomson are tried and how many are left in limbo. The Obama team is betting that the issue fades as Guantanamo is emptied and then closed. Said an administration official at a briefing on Wednesday (the White House insisted his name not be used): "The bottom line is we're trying to get to zero here on the detainees." And if, over at Thomson, "we have to detain any without trial, we will only do so as a last resort."