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Gitmo detainees still a threat

About half the detainees still at the Guantanamo Bay prison for terrorists pose no threat, the White House insists. So why is it so difficult to find any other country – anyone – willing to take them?

Despite clear opposition from Congress and the American people, President Barack Obama is proceeding with plans to close the prison. At one time, it housed 680 prisoners; just 116 remain after a years-long White House push to release them and send them home or to other countries.

Scores of released detainees have shown up on battlefields and in terrorist cells, but that has not deterred Obama.

He forced former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to resign because that official was not moving quickly enough to ship detainees out of Guantanamo Bay. Now, the White House is upset with Hagel’s successor, Ash Carter, for the same reason.

But Carter cannot find countries willing to accept the detainees. Apparently U.S. favors to nations such as Palau, which once accepted six released prisoners, are not enough to outweigh security fears.

Once the number of detainees goes down to 64, Obama’s plan is to ship them to a stateside prison.

Congress should not allow it. Someone has to worry more about terrorism than politics.

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