In Support of the Global War on Terror and the Work That Goes on at Guantanamo Bay

IN SUPPORT OF THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR AND THE WORK THAT GOES ON AT                             GUANTANAMO BAY

______

HON. DAN BURTON

of indiana

in the house of representatives

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the suicide of three suspected dedicated terrorists imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has once again provided fodder for the enemies of the U.S.-led Global War on Terror. They are using the suicides to attack one of the most important components of this war: our ability to detain dangerous men and women and extract important information from them that will help protect American lives. The critics, who come from the media, Congress, the blame-America first crowd and even the terrorists themselves, have long sought the psychological victory that would come with the closing of the military prison at Gitmo, and now even President Bush has been swayed by their criticism, saying that the prison is damaging the image of the U.S. at home and abroad. After the fire at the Pentagon was extinguished, the rubble was cleared at Ground Zero, and the remains of the last victim were buried, it seems that the memory of the September 11th attacks has slowly faded away from the minds of many people. I would urge those people to consider that the memory of that day would be a daily reality were it not for the brave men and women who serve in our military and have apprehended the heinous thugs and criminals housed at Guantanamo Bay. To make matters worse, the blame-America first crowd is not only demanding that we close Guantanamo Bay, but they are also suggesting that those imprisoned there be released, so they can return to their homelands and plot more attacks against America; a move which the Bush administration has said it absolutely would not make. As the President said,"there are some, if put on the streets, who would create grave harm to American citizens and other citizens of the world." Moving prisoners to another facility would simply move the controversy from Gitmo to a new prison. Creating a Guantanamo Bay military prison somewhere else would do nothing to satisfy its critics, and in fact, would embolden the terrorists by providing them with a marvelous psychological victory by allowing them to praise that Gitmo is no more. I wish the prison at Gitmo was not necessary and its cells were empty, but that's not the reality we live with today. There are fanatic and committed terrorists and Islamofascists throughout the world who are set on hurting Americans and the West, and they need to be captured and detained. The face of Gitmo may be ugly to some, Mr. Speaker, but so was the sight of human beings jumping from the top of the World Trade Center. The terrorists brought this war to us, and I believe we need to stand firm, and keep Gitmo in business until the Global War on Terror is finally won.