Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the most prominent Obama cabinet holdover from the Bush administration, is strongly defending President Barack Obama’s decision to close the prison at Guantanamo, noting that there are already terrorists serving time in prisons in the United States, and accusing critics of the plan of using fear tactics:
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Obama administration had no choice but to order the shutdown of the prison at Guantanamo because “the name itself is a condemnation” of U.S. anti-terrorism strategy.
In an interview broadcast Friday on NBC’s “Today” show, Gates called the facility on the island of Cuba is “probably one of the finest prisons in the world today.” But at the same time, he said it had become “a taint” on the reputation of America.
…In an interview taped Thursday aboard the retired aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, the defense secretary said that once the decision was made to close Guantanamo, “the question is, where do you put them?” He said Obama would do nothing to endanger the public and said there has never been an escape from a “super-max” prison in this country.
….Gates said that “we have many terrorists in United States’ prisons today,” and he decried “fear-mongering about this.”
It’s notable that Gates is not only someone who served the last President Bush, but he is perhaps even more closely identified with the first President George Bush in terms of his past ties and approach: he could be considered to be closer to the Colin Powell wing of the GOP than the Dick Cheney conservative talk radio political culture wing.
Gates comments come as the GOP has gone nuclear over Obama’s plan to close Gitmo:
Republicans have decided that President Obama’s plan to close the Guantanamo terror prison is a truly explosive issue – maybe even nuclear.
That’s the unsubtle implication of a new GOP ad released Friday that cribs from one of the most controversial political ads of all time – the so-called “Daisy” ad, a 1964 spot that fades from a little girl plucking a daisy to a massive nuclear mushroom cloud.
“These are the stakes,” the new ad states with the original voiceover from President Lyndon Johnson, who first used the line – and the frightening nuclear backdrop – to raise fears about hawkish challenger Barry Goldwater.
It was the most pointed salvo in a day of jousting that included charges by Defense Secretary Robert Gates – who held the same position under GOP President George Bush – that Republicans were engaging in “fear-mongering” over Obama’s plan to close Gitmo.
This blatant linkage of images — terrorists…fear of terrorists..a mushroom cloud…LBJ saying “These are the stakes” …. erase any lingering doubt about whether the Republican party is using fear as a clear-cut, unadulterated political tactic:
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.