YES! Finally, one article from USA TODAY! As one of our friends pointed out to me, "Maybe Obama will join his brothers in the soon to be Max Prison in the near future."
In a letter to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, top administration officials including Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the plan "part of the president's aggressive posture in the fight against al-Qaeda."
The decision to buy a nearly vacant state prison in Thomson, Ill., to house alleged terrorists is the latest step in Obama's effort to close the Guantanamo detention center, a symbol for detainee abuses under George W. Bush.
White House national security adviser Jim Jones said closing the island prison will rob terrorist organizations of a tool used to recruit "warriors of the future."
The White House, however, did not say exactly how many prisoners will be transferred or when and how many would fall into the controversial category of detainees to be held indefinitely without being charged. Also unanswered: the costs, how to win congressional support or when Guantanamo might be closed.
"There are many steps still to be taken," said the letter to Quinn, a Democrat.
The governor, appearing at the White House with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., promised that the facility will be rebuilt to become "the most secure prison in America." The project is expected to bring 3,000 new jobs to an area with an 11.1% unemployment rate.
Critics were unmoved by the assurances. Liz Cheney, daughter of the former vice president and an official with the conservative group Keep America Safe, said voters didn't elect Obama to "usher terrorists onto the homeland and call it a jobs program."
Debra Burlingame, whose brother was the pilot of the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11, said Obama is "playing into the hands of the jihadist propaganda" by closing Guantanamo.
Others, including some liberal groups, blasted the decision on legal and moral grounds.
"A fundamental principle of the rule of law is that people cannot be held without charge or trial," said Tom Parker of Amnesty International USA. "The Founding Fathers knew it, the greatest generation fought for it, candidate Obama campaigned for it, and the president needs to remember it."
Center for Strategic and International Studies scholar Sarah Mendelson said the move to Thomson "is institutionalizing indefinite detention of terror suspects within the United States. It's what governments we don't like do."
Meanwhile, many unanswered questions remained about what Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and the House GOP Conference dubbed "Guantanamo Bay North."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the administration still does not have a date by which it will close Guantanamo, despite an executive order signed by Obama on his second day in office that it should be shuttered by the end of this year.
Gibbs also said he could not provide a cost estimate to close the detention center, but he said it will cost half as much per year to operate the new prison.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he supports closing Guantanamo but is concerned the White House doesn't have a comprehensive plan for how to deal with the remaining 210 detainees.
Of those still at Guantanamo, the Pentagon says about 95 are slated to be returned to their own or other countries, five will be tried in New York, and five tried before military commissions. Most of the remaining 100 or so would be sent to Thomson, either to be held indefinitely or tried by military tribunals.
Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge called concerns about security in Illinois "overblown." And a group of four 9/11 widows, including Monica Gabrielle, whose husband died in the twin towers, issued a statement supporting the White House and denouncing "terror-induced fear mongering."
In the 550-resident village of Thomson, 150 miles west of Chicago, there were mixed reviews.
"This community has suffered for many years," said Mike Schafer, president of Schafer Fisheries, noting that some businesses that opened or expanded when the prison opened in 2001 have since failed. "This is really a positive thing."
Thomson Mayor Jerry Hebeler dismissed security concerns. "I'd never chase jobs if I thought it was going to jeopardize security and safety," he said.
Others expressed skepticism.
"I think it's the stupidest thing they could ever do," said Shawn Anderson, who manages a septic service and excavating company in town.
State Sen. Tim Bivins, a Republican, said he's concerned the decision was made too fast, before a proper security assessment was done. Because of the promise of new jobs, "everybody's got gold fever," he said. But "there are so many unanswered questions."
