Emptying Gitmo

On the radio this morning the story was that White House insiders say O plans to empty and close Gitmo, and have all our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, by the end of his term.

Since they plan on releasing everybody anyway they thought it would be good to get something in return.

So they got Bergdahl, I think the last US prisoner.

So now the flap is, again, about whether to close Gitmo, those opposed arguing the remaining 80 prisoners or so, who somebody said cannot and will not ever be tried, will continue to be dangerous and can be expected to resume their careers as terrorists if released, ever.

Which is pretty much why we never let serial killers out.

The administration argument is that wars come to an end and then prisoners of war are released.

The critics say the war is not over merely because the US decided to call it a day.

But if the US regards itself as no longer legally at war with al-Qaeda or the Taliban, the US can handle their terrorists only by way of ordinary criminal procedure.

So the US has to release them or convict them, and the US doesn’t even want to try them.

Btw, right down through the Civil War, it was not unusual for POWs to be released during a war, on their promise not to resume fighting.

Americans so released sometimes simply went home, personally done with the wars in question.

Leon Panetta in Pittsburgh on the question