S.C. congressional reps ask Obama not to relocate Guantanamo facility

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) recently called for an immediate halt to any plan to relocate prisoners currently held in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba to any site on U.S. soil.

Scott and five fellow Republican members of South Carolina’s congressional delegation wrote to President Obama, urging the president to call off relocation plans. In addition to Scott, the letter was signed by Reps. Joe Wilson, Jeff Duncan, Trey Gowdy, Mick Mulvaney, Mark Sanford, and Tom Rice.

Obama has vowed to close Guantanamo Bay, in part because of accusations from the international community of widespread human rights violations in the prison. Last week, the Department of Defense began site surveys within the United States to look at new options for a place to house international detainees accused of terrorism.

The Consolidated Naval Brig in Charleston, South Carolina; Fort Leavenworth in Kansas; and several other undisclosed facilities are currently under consideration.

The letter from Scott and his congressional colleagues expressed major concerns over the safety of moving terrorism suspects to U.S. soil, saying the president is more concerned with “fulfilling hopeless campaign promises than protecting the safety and security of the American people.”

“We strongly oppose any efforts to close Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp and move its detainees to anywhere in the U.S. or the rest of the world,” Scott wrote in the letter. “Any effort to remove them from the facility only allows a possibility of them returning to their previous lives as vicious terrorists.”

Brian P. McKeon, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the president and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel both think closing the Guantanamo detention facility is the best move for national security.

“The president and his national security team believe that the continued operation of the facility weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies, and is used by violent extremists to incite local populations,” McKeon said.