White House mum on Plan B after GOP rejects Gitmo plan 
Examiner: A White House spokesman isn’t saying whether President Obama will try on his own to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in light of Republicans’ promise to ignore the closure plan he sent to Congress on Tuesday.
Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the administration wants to work with lawmakers on the details of closing down the facility built to hold suspected terrorists caught in the post-Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks dragnet. He underscored that Obama has already said that is his preference, rather than taking unilateral action.
“What we’re focused on right now is congressional consideration of a plan that they specifically asked for so that we can have a discussion about the best path forward,” Earnest said hours after the White House met the congressionally mandated deadline.
Earnest said the White House plan was lacking key details, such as where prisoners would be moved to, because Congress has barred the administration from spending money on seeking alternatives.
“What they have done thus far… is put in place barriers that have prevented the administration from moving forward,” Earnest lamented. “But by putting those barriers in place, they have led us down the path of a policy that wastes taxpayer dollars and makes the United States of America more vulnerable to terrorist organizations.”
Earnest said the immediate rejection of the administration’s plan by many Republicans is just the latest sign of the GOP’s unwillingness to work constructively on any issue.
“[T]here is this emerging trend … where Congress isn’t simply in a position of just saying, ‘No,'” he said. “Congress is actually refusing to engage … They’re refusing to do the basic function of their job,” Earnest said. He pointed to Republican intransigence on other matters, such as an authorization for use of military force against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, the president’s budget or expected inaction once he nominates someone to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
“They’re doing just about everything, except for fulfilling their basic constitutional responsibilities,” Earnest said.
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BI: There’s nothing subtle about Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts’ reaction to President Obama’s idea to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Roberts literally threw it in the trash.
Pat RobertsVerified account
@SenPatRoberts 6 hours ago.
@POTUS, this is what I think of the “plan” to close#GITMO and send terrorists to the United States. pic.twitter.com/5ceyu5I2tc***
Even Obama’s New Plan to Close Gitmo Can’t Say How It Will Happen
DailyBeast: The report states that detainees could be transferred to one of 13 U.S. other prisons, but it doesn’t say which ones. It also doesn’t explain how the administration calculated the $475 million price tag for building a new facility in the U.S. to hold detainees. Nor did it explain why moving detainees to U.S. soil reduce criticism across the world that the U.S. should stop holding such prisoners all together. Any construction of a new prison is unlikely to be completed in the next year, and any executive order would require funding and congressional approval. Moreover, none of the proposed costs associated with moving detainees to the U.S. are allocated in the current defense budget. For those reasons, the prison in Guantanamo is likely to remain open when Obama leave office in January 2017. Full article here.
Defense Department: The United States obtains two types of assurances from a receiving country: security assurances
(i.e., measures to sufficiently mitigate the threat posed by the detainee) and humane treatment
assurances (i.e., measures to ensure that the transfer comports with the U.S. Government’s
humane treatment policy). These assurances are obtained following consultations among
diplomatic, military, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals from the United States and
the receiving country.
This Administration works extensively with receiving governments to obtain their assurances
that appropriate security measures will be in place to substantially mitigate the risk that the
transferred individual will engage or reengage in any terrorist or other hostile activity that
threatens the United States or U.S. persons or interests. In particular, the Administration seeks
assurances from receiving governments that they will take certain security measures that, in the
U.S. Government’s experience, have proven to be effective in mitigating threats posed by former
detainees. The specific measures that are ultimately negotiated vary depending on a range of
factors, including the specific threat a detainee may pose, the geographic location of the
receiving country, the receiving country’s domestic laws, the receiving country’s capabilities and
resources, and, where applicable, the receiving country’s international legal obligations.
Importantly, the Administration will transfer a detainee only if it determines that the transfer is in
the national security interest of the United States, the threat posed by the detainee will be
substantially mitigated, and the transfer is consistent with our humane treatment policy. The
security assurances obtained from receiving countries generally cover:
- restrictions on travel, which can include the denial of travel documents and other
measures to prevent transferred detainees from leaving the country (or specific cities or
regions in the country) for a specified period of time;
- monitoring of the detainee, which may include physical and electronic monitoring, or
other measures available under the receiving country’s domestic laws;
- periodic sharing of information concerning the individual with the U.S. Government,
including any information regarding attempts to travel outside of the receiving country;
and
- other measures to satisfy the United States’ national security interests and to aid the
detainee in reentering society, such as medical support, skills training, language training,
enrollment of the detainee in a reintegration or rehabilitation program, family relocation,
and assistance in accessing a variety of public services.
In each case, the specific security assurances negotiated take into account the individual facts
and circumstances of the transfer, including the detainee’s specific threat profile, as well as the
capabilities and domestic legal authorities of the receiving government.
Approach to Transfers. Of the 147 detainees transferred during the current Administration: 81
have been transferred to countries in the Middle East, Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula; 47 have
been transferred to countries in Europe and Asia, 13 have been transferred to the Americas; and
6 have been transferred to the South Pacific. The Administration generally aims to transfer
detainees to their home countries. Where that is not feasible, the Administration seeks
resettlement opportunities in third countries. The Administration intends to continue working to
secure transfer and security commitments from countries around the world, including transfers to
rehabilitation programs, so long as these arrangements satisfy security and humane treatment
requirements. Full Pentagon summary here.
