Gitmo Gets the Democratic Go-Ahead

Floor Speech

GITMO GETS THE DEMOCRATIC GO-AHEAD -- (House of Representatives - June 29, 2005)

(Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight comments published in Tuesday's edition of The Hill from Members of Congress who recently visited the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

One Democratic Senator described the tour as ``an eye-opening experience.''

``We found a well-run and well-organized camp,'' he added. ``Everything we heard previously was negative, but what we saw was much different from what we had heard and read about. While there may have been some inappropriate interrogation efforts in the past, they are not ongoing, and closing the prison is not one of the things we should pursue.''

A Democratic Representative agreed, saying that ``the Guantanamo we saw today is not the Guantanamo we heard about a few years ago.''

Another Democratic Senator noted the care taken to respect the prisoners' religious beliefs, ``they are given Muslim prayer rugs and Korans. There are arrows everywhere pointing them to Mecca. We even witnessed a prayer call announcing to the terrorists that it was time for them to turn to Mecca and pray.''

Mr. Speaker, these praises for the Guantanamo Bay facility do not come from its supporters. They all come from Democrats.

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It is unacceptable for anyone who has not visited this facility to condemn it and attempt to defame the military personnel who serve there. Comparing the staff with murderers and criminals is worse than hyperbole--it is uninformed, hurtful nonsense!

As one Democratic Senator who visited the camp asked, ``Did the Nazis respect the Jewish faith? Did Stalin and Pol Pot practice religious tolerance?'' The answer: Absolutely not!

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