Guantanamo Bay

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ZELDIN. I would like to congratulate the gentleman from Pennsylvania on his recent promotion to general and for all of his service not just here in Congress, but also in uniform.

This week President Obama sent an incomplete plan to Congress to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This plan would send terrorists back home overseas and even bring high-risk terrorists to detention centers here in the United States.

There are still so many unanswered questions with regard to the President's proposal, for example, what happens when we capture the next 2 or 10 or 30 terrorists? Where are we going to question them? Where are we going to detain them? What is the exact placement inside the United States for those detainees currently in GTMO? Also, what legal protections and rights will detainees have if we bring them into the U.S. and into our civilian court system?

Make no mistake. These detainees at GTMO are the worst of the worst of the worst. All the variables left out of the President's plan shows that this really isn't a plan. It is a political campaign pledge from 8 years ago.

The facility at Guantanamo Bay has not only served as a place to keep some of the most dangerous terrorists in the world, but also as a tactical and strategic facility where intelligence is gathered to prevent potential attacks against our country and ensure U.S. national security.

While the President was speaking this week, it was reported that a former prisoner at Guantanamo Bay was one of four terror suspects affiliated with ISIS who was arrested for his alleged role in plotting terror attacks in Spain. Just one week earlier another former prisoner at Guantanamo was pictured in a number of videos that called for jihad against the Saudi Kingdom and the Western world.

These two cases are not just coincidence. Just a few months ago the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reported that one-third of freed Guantanamo prisoners are either suspected or confirmed of returning to terrorist activities. One-third.

The President is willing to compromise the security and safety of American lives for the sake of his own legacy. Bringing dangerous terrorists to U.S. soil is a dangerous political move that could not come at a worse time, as groups like ISIS continue to spread across the Middle East, Europe, and the rest of the world. Again, Guantanamo is a key strategic and national security asset.

For the sake of our national security, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay remains open. I would rather have terrorists in GTMO or dead than in U.S. detention facilities or back on the battlefield.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source