The sunny side of terrorism
Murphy's Law
Adam Murphy
Issue date: 11/24/09 Section: Opinion
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Suspected terrorists, that is.
Guantanamo Bay detainees are going to be brought into the U.S. and put on trial. The problem is finding them a place to stay.
The Obama administration has been kicking the around the idea of housing the detainees at Thomson prison. The Federal Bureau of Prisons would purchase Thomson prison from the state of Illinois and the detainees would be housed in a separate wing of the 1,600-cell prison.
The eight-year-old prison is exactly the kind of modern facility needed to house the inmates, said Harley Lappin, head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, in a Reuters article.
Residents of Thomson and nearby towns are mostly in favor of the move because of the jobs that would be created - Lappin said the prison would create around 500 jobs, according to the same article.
The local residents want the detainees in Thomson. Obama wants the detainees in Thomson. The head of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons wants the detainees in Thomson. So it would seem a safe bet that the terrorist suspects will find themselves in Thomson, once the legal mumbo-jumbo is sorted.
But there is one group that doesn't want the detainees in Thomson.
Republicans argue that by bringing detainees to America, the suspected terrorists may compromise security and be afforded rights they do not deserve.
Republicans are seeking a vote on legislation aimed at prohibiting the Obama administration from trying suspected terrorist in U.S. courts.
The main Republican argument is one of security - that terrorists will escape and blow us all up.
Yet during the Bush administration, 195 terrorists were tried, convicted and locked up on U.S. soil. How many of those terrorists have escaped and wreaked havoc on U.S. civilians?
Not one.
Playing the fear card is a typical Republican ploy to garner support. Does anyone remember the color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System?
From a cool, soothing low-level green to a bright red that signaled a "severe risk of a terrorist attack."
Ever since Obama took office, Republicans have been seeing red and shouting it too. They are using Thomson as a way to gain political points.
Republican Pete Hoekstra of Michigan said the Obama administration was bribing local cash-strapped communities into taking the prisoners. Yet those citizens in Thomson want the detainees and the jobs that would follow.
Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois, who is running for Obama's vacant senate seat, said that a nuclear plant near Thomson could become a target if terrorists were brought near it - as if it wouldn't have been a target before.
These are just two examples of baseless claims coming from the right.
Republicans talk about rights and security like they know what is best for the citizens of Thomson.
Those same citizens have a right to financial security that just doesn't exist in Thomson right now. Bringing Gitmo detainees to the Thomson prison would open up jobs and provide a better way of life for a lot of people.
If it was up to Republicans, those citizens in Thomson would never have that chance.
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