Despite Congress refusing to put funding for the purchase of the Thomson correctional facility in Illinois in the war-funding bill, the Obama administration appears to be preparing to purchase the prison, where it intends to move detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, with funds from the Justice Department:
Writing to members of the Illinois delegation in Congress, Asst. Atty. Gen. Ronald Weich reaffirmed the administration's "commitment to acquiring the facility this year," and provided details about steps planned for the next few months.
[...]
Also, in recent weeks, House lawmakers have moved to blocks federal funds for modifying the Thomson prison so it can accommodate the detainees.
However, that measure did not prohibit use of federal funding to actually buy the prison, and Monday's letter indicates the Justice Department wants to keep the Thomson option alive as negotiations continue with congressional leaders.
The constituency for a Gitmo North at Thomson has grown smaller as the Obama administration has decided to retain the policy of indefinite detention from the Bush years. In April, a coalition of civil-liberties and human-rights groups who had previously called for Gitmo's closure announced their opposition to the Thomson facility on the grounds that it would bring indefinite detention to American soil.
-- A. Serwer
