Sharp Rubber Duck

Guantanamo detainees could be
moved to
Pendleton and Miramar

April 20, 2007

By Marcus Stern

WASHINGTON – Some of the suspected terrorists being held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay might be moved to Camp Pendleton and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar if Congress votes to close the controversial facility, according to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine.

Hunter, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Service Committee, released the names of 17 military bases around the country that he said would be asked to house the Guantanamo prisoners if Congress closes the base in Cuba against President Bush's wishes.

Hunter opposes the plan, saying it would put terrorists on U.S. soil.

“Many of these terrorists held at Guantanamo have killed or threatened Americans,” Hunter said Thursday. “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed admitted earlier this month to masterminding the attacks on the United States on September 11th.”

Moving the detainees would “create an opportunity for these dangerous enemies to recruit new followers and disseminate their terrorist skills” at new facilities.

At the same time, he said, it “could potentially endanger thousands of American civilians.”

“It will make the new detention facilities prime targets for any terrorist attack that al-Qaeda is able to mount within our borders,” Hunter said.

Allegations of abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo and Abu Graib in Iraq, some well documented, have led to calls to close the facilities as tainted reminders.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who previously supported closing Guantanamo, was more guarded Thursday, saying, “I would assume that we have the capacity, the actual physical capacity” to house the detainees in U.S. military prisons but “there needs to be some dialogue between the Congress” and the Bush administration.

Rep. James Moran, D-Va., said, “Abu Ghraib did us so much damage, and Guantanamo continues to inflict that kind of damage in terms of our credibility.”

“I think the committee would appreciate you giving some thought to pragmatically, logistically how we could achieve the closure of Guantanamo, whether it be at Quantico, Fort Leavenworth, Charleston – you would know best. But I think it's time that you might give us some suggestions in that regard.”

The other military facilities Hunter said might receive Guantanamo prisoners if the facility is closed:

1.  Edwards Air Force Base
2.  Fort Leavenworth
3.  Fort Knox, Ky.
4.  Fort Sill, Okla.
5.  Fort Lewis, Wash.
6.  Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
7.  Naval Brig, Norfolk, Va.
8.  Weapons Station, Charleston, S.C.
9.  Naval Station, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii;
10.  Submarine Base, Bangor, Wash.
11.  Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Fla.
12.  Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla.
13.  Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va.
14.  Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
15. Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

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