President Barack Obama has ordered the federal government to acquire an underused state prison in rural Illinois to be the new home for a limited number of terror suspects now held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The federal government will acquire Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill., transforming the prison in a sleepy town near the Mississippi River into a prison that exceeds "supermax standards," according to a letter to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair.
Those departments "will work closely with state and local law enforcement authorities to identify and mitigate any risks" at the prison, the letter said.
The decision is an important step toward closing Guantanamo Bay. Thomson, about 150 miles from Chicago, is expected to house both federal inmates and no more than 100 detainees from Guantanamo Bay.
Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin and Quinn were receiving briefings Tuesday on the plan at the White House.
Administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they could not yet lay out a timeframe for when a transfer of detainees from the Navy-run detention facility to Thomson. They said the administration would have to work with Congress to amend laws and secure funding before any prisoners are brought to U.S. soil.
The officials said military tribunals for potential detainees would be held at Thomson. They also said that the facility could house detainees whom the president determines must be held indefinitely but can't be tried. - CBS News Story
1 comment:
If you want to find out how dangerous it would be for the residence of Thomson to house suspected terrorist all you have to do is visit Florence, Colorado
Florance is home to The The Supermax federal prison in (ADX Florence), where Some of the world’s most notorious terrorists are held , including:
1. Ramzi Yousef, Mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings.
2. Zacharias Moussaoui, 9/11 Conspirator.
3. Wahid el-Hage, Mohammed Sadiq Odeh, Mohammed Rashed al-Owhali, and
Khalfan Khamis Mohammed, East African embassy bombing perpetrators.
4.Richard C. Reid, “Shoe Bomber” convicted for trying to blow up an airliner over
the Atlantic with explosives in his shoe.
5. Muhammad Salameh, 1993 World Trade Center bombing perpetrator.
(it's a long list so you can see who else is there at this link)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prisoners_at_ADX_Florence
These bad guys have been there all during the Clinton and Bush era.
No one has complained
No terrorist have escaped
It hasn't been a magnet for Terrorists
These guys have been tried and convicted in US courts.
They are terrorist who are have been housed on US soil for years...even during the Bush administration
If the citizens of Florence are content and happy, I don't see any reason why Thomson folks wouldn't feel any different
I live 5 miles from Folsom prison that houses 7000 really bad guys. The prison has put the town on the map and attracted 1000's of good paying jobs. Folsom has blossomed and grown from a sleepy village in 1989 to a regular town.
Try and take Folsom away and you'll make some locals really mad
If the folks in Thomson are are happy and willing to take these terrorists..more power to them.
If they don't want them...some other hard luck city will jump at the chance
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