Spencer Ackerman reports that the House Armed Services Committee's markup of the annual war-funding bill denied the administration the necessary funds to close Gitmo and move its operations to the Thompson Facility in Illinois. From their statement:
“The Committee firmly believes that the construction or modification of any facility in the U.S. to detain or imprison individuals currently being held at Guantanamo must be accompanied by a thorough and comprehensive plan that outlines the merits, costs, and risks associated with utilizing such a facility,” the summary text read. “No such plan has been presented to date. The bill prohibits the use of any funds for this purpose."
Putting the funds in this bill was the best route the administration had for dodging a filibuster. If they couldn't get it done now, with this Democratic majority in the House, they're unlikely to be able to do it once Republicans make their likely gains in Congress in November.
It would be hard to find a more expressive symbol of the Obama administration's embrace of most of the Bush-era policies than the president's inability to close Gitmo -- or a more devastating example of his failure to bring the change he promised to bring to America's national security policy. As one of the most potent recruiting tools al-Qaeda has ever had, Gitmo's ongoing existence will have repercussions beyond our borders.
-- A. Serwer
