Althouse: "President Barack Obama's allies in the Senate will not provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay prison..."

May 19, 2009

"President Barack Obama's allies in the Senate will not provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay prison..."

"... until the administration comes up with a satisfactory plan for transferring the detainees there, a top Democrat said Tuesday."

Key word: "allies." Obama doesn't want to close Guantanamo, but he doesn't want to be the one to say it, and these people are giving him cover. Well played... reasonably well played, that is. I mean, I see right through it.

45 comments:

Bob said...: I'm sure this is another one where the CIA lied to Congress...; 5/19/09, 5:28 PM
Joe said...: If Dick Durban wasn't such a dick, he'd propose a plan and tell Obama to fuck himself.

Once again congress proves they are a bunch of cowards and buffoons.; 5/19/09, 5:31 PM
Revenant said...: I am shocked, shocked to hear that Obama misled the people of the United States. Shocked, I say.; 5/19/09, 5:37 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Poor Emily Bazelon.

Lost her America's favorite name status and now on the verge of loosing a bet to Blog extraordinaire Althouse.; 5/19/09, 5:44 PM
Cedarford said...: My hope is they reconsider, and stick the terrorists in San Francisco, Harry Reid's Nevada, restricted to UofChicago, Harvard, and Yale Law school grounds. And most sent to NYC to live with members of Kenneth Roth's Human Rights Watch and George Soro's ACLU.; 5/19/09, 5:44 PM
ricpic said...: I, the Great Obama, will offer them a car dealership in Dearborn. That will pacify them. I, the Great Obama have spoken.; 5/19/09, 5:49 PM
Penny said...: Nice work there, Ann.

Can't we also assume there is a shift away from the "moral" questions that have driven all the dialogue on Guantanamo in the past? Now "how-tos" and "funding" are on the top of the list.; 5/19/09, 5:52 PM
Cedarford said...: Oh, and lets not forget America's greatest self-proclaimed hero, John McCain.
He of the "torture never works" because people like me are always smarter than interrogators..except those Keating 5 ones...and the guy that gave Democrats cover by insisting that GOTMO was a "moral abominination" that had to be shut down.

Send a pack of AQ to Arizona, then interrogate the Great McCain on it and watch him fold like wet cardboard. Reveal the names of others that told him closing GITMO was a good idea but never his own idea, then watch the dimbulb do another "POW-style" apology tour where he assures "my friends, my dear friends" that he is both accountable and blameless.; 5/19/09, 5:52 PM
dbp said...: Good catch Althouse! The use of the word "allies" gives the game away.; 5/19/09, 5:53 PM
Big Mike said...: Over on Slate Emily Bazelon has all but conceded to you, Professor.

But, ah, pardon me, but doesn't just about everybody see it?; 5/19/09, 6:03 PM
Penny said...: Also, don't forget, the article said that the Pentagon is still expecting that Guantanamo will close January 2010. Also, they said they would look at the funding during next appropriations, by which time they expected to have a plan.

Personally, I am surprised by this. Obama likes his "morality" message WAY too much for this to be a dead issue. This is his personal tune that he not only plays to his constituents on the left, but I believe, more importantly for him, to the world.

Stay tuned. I think he's still negotiating with other nations on this.; 5/19/09, 6:08 PM
Jeremy said...: So...what do the local wingnuts have to say about this?

How will this fit the standard whining and bitching mode?

HA!; 5/19/09, 6:10 PM
Jeremy said...: Wow!!!

Ann refers to the Democrats in Congress as Obama's "allies" and the locals consider this to be some kind of incredibly sly revelation.

I always thought allies were those who were like-minded and supported and represented many of the same views.

You know...like Democrats...and Democrats.

Or wingnuts...and wingnuts.; 5/19/09, 6:15 PM
Revenant said...: So...what do the local wingnuts have to say about this?

Well, I can't speak for all of us.

But personally I plan to pop some popcorn and watch the lefties tie themselves in knots defending the President. After that -- time permitting -- I might find someone who really DID want the terrorists released from Gitmo, and spend a few minutes feeling smug in his presence.

After that, I figured I'd go to Starbucks for some espresso. Some people like cinnamon, some like nutmeg, but for me schadenfreude will always be the best spice.; 5/19/09, 6:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Jeremy, you should know of course, that wingnuts come left and right threaded.; 5/19/09, 6:20 PM
Big Mike said...: @Revenant, you may not be speaking for all of us, but you're sure speaking for me!; 5/19/09, 6:20 PM
sg said...: If Obama doesn't want to close Gitmo, that's a fairly recent development.

In January, he was awfully confident proclaiming, in one of his first official acts, that it would be closed within 12 months.

If he wanted to kick the can down the road then, he could have just adopted the McCain-Bush position: yes, we'll close it--when we can safely do so.

Instead, Obama said Gitmo MUST be closed--to make America safer. How will he go back on that now, without major egg on his face?

Blaming Congress if Gitmo's not closed will only get him so far--especially when they counter that they're keeping it open because he's got no plan. If they reject a detailed plan, then Obama will have something to complain about. Until then, he's exposed.

Let's face it, Gitmo is an unforced error for Obama, a rookie mistake.; 5/19/09, 6:31 PM
Methadras said...: "Jeremy said...

Wow!!!

Ann refers to the Democrats in Congress as Obama's "allies" and the locals consider this to be some kind of incredibly sly revelation.

I always thought allies were those who were like-minded and supported and represented many of the same views.

You know...like Democrats...and Democrats.

Or wingnuts...and wingnuts."

Hey, at least they didn't say cadre. Besides, I want to thank you for finally calling and associating Democrats as wingnuts.; 5/19/09, 6:52 PM
traditionalguy said...: The Professor was indeed prophetic. There was never an up side to closing Gitmo, except momentary campaign posturing to be seen as more humane than cruel Bush-Hitler. Now we face the real rubber meeting the road moment for the future in a Cap and Trade Tax Scam being rammed thru Congress while everyone is being distracted by Gitmo and dazzling Torture Dramas. Obama has his eyes on the Prize.; 5/19/09, 6:53 PM
Palladian said...: "Let's face it, Gitmo is an unforced error for Obama, a rookie mistake."

So does this make rookie mistake #139 or #140? I've lost count.

The Obama administration are becoming old pros at one thing: blaming other people...; 5/19/09, 6:54 PM
Methadras said...: Closing Gitmo for Mr. Barely was red meat to his leftist agitators and kooks. Once again he was high on style, very low on substance. This empty-suit, incompetent pussy of a man is simply incapable of pulling the lever himself. He'll sign the order, but he won't pull the trigger.; 5/19/09, 6:54 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Palladian said:

"So does this make rookie mistake #139 or #140? I've lost count."

Ha you saved me the time of trying to be as cynical.

Seriously is someone somewhere keeping score on these admissions by Obama that he was wrong on a campaign promise?; 5/19/09, 7:39 PM
Jennifer said...: I see right through it.

Well, they did promise transparency...; 5/19/09, 7:49 PM
Rialby said...: Did anyone pay any attention when the Bush administration was defending Gitmo due to the nuances of the situation we are in?

Or were they so blinded by their own gd self-righteousness and hatred for Bush that they couldn't understand the argument?; 5/19/09, 7:56 PM
MadisonMan said...: In January, he was awfully confident proclaiming, in one of his first official acts, that it would be closed within 12 months.

My own recollection was that the statement of impending closure was artfully nebulous.

If they want to close Gitmo, my vote for the end location of the prisoners would be the state that sends the least amount of $$ to DC relative to the amount they get. Shouldn't that state have to earn its dough?

I'm vaguely remembering that to be Alaska or Mississippi. Or how about on Isle Royale? That's a secure location.; 5/19/09, 8:13 PM
Cedarford said...: OT, 4 fundamental items of great impact announced today:

1. China and Brazil say it is coming the appropriate time to destroy the dollar as the world's reserve currency.
Clinton & Bush II started the path to destruction with globalization and free trade, now Obama printing trillions in new dollars hastens the need.

2. Credit card legislation Chris Dodd & Democrats are about to pass will allow credit card companies to charge annual fees, eliminate frequent flyer miles, and allow interest to be charged from day of purchase despite paying off the whole amount when billed. In return for lower interest rates for those heavily in debt.

3. Uncovery of a fossil, once only seen by a private collector. Of an astonishing new 47-million year old hominid fossil that is called the "rosetta stone" of man's origins and eventual differentiation from other branches of this tree - tarsids, lemurs, monkeys and apes.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Missing-Link-Scientists-In-New-York-Unveil-Fossil-Of-Lemur-Monkey-Hailed-As-Mans-Earliest-Ancestor/Article/200905315284582?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15284582_Missing_Link%3A_Scientists_In_New_York_Unveil_Fossil_Of_Lemur_Monkey_Hailed_As_Mans_Earliest_Ancestor

4. Warning by King Abdullah of Jordan that no help will be coming to contain Iran - and likely war or a new oil embargo directed at Israel and any supporters of it's Settlements....unless America forces Israel into a two-state solution.; 5/19/09, 8:27 PM
The Drill SGT said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/19/09, 8:48 PM
The Drill SGT said...: Cedarford said...
My hope is they reconsider, and stick the terrorists in San Francisco, Harry Reid's Nevada, restricted to UofChicago, Harvard, and Yale Law school grounds. And most sent to NYC to live with members of Kenneth Roth's Human Rights Watch and George Soro's ACLU...

A half-way house on the Corner of Telegraph and Bancroft across the street from Sproul Plaza would seem the perfect location for those 17 Chinese AQ trainees; 5/19/09, 8:49 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: You guys don't get it. If Bush had simply put these suspects (we really aren't sure they're terrorists) on trial, here, in the USA with taxpayer appointed defense counsel Obama wouldn't be in this mess.

Anyone with half their brain tied behind their back would know this was the appropriate way to deal with illegal combatants picked up on the battlefield.; 5/19/09, 8:50 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: China and Brazil say it is coming the appropriate time to destroy the dollar as the world's reserve currency..

Well considering that Obama is content with China financing his spending spree and Brazil is sitting on around 80 billion barrels of oil that they're working on extracting with China's financing, they will certainly have some credible tools to do that.

I wonder if any moonbats will be protesting Brazil drilling for oil and continuing the polluting of the planet and causing global warming.; 5/19/09, 8:54 PM
Jeremy said...: Radio Talking Head Wingnut Cat Fight:

SAVAGE: And yet here in America, I've had some people come to my aid. They see the bigger picture. They're not like [Bill] O'Reilly; they're not like Limbaugh, who's the biggest disappointment of all. Limbaugh has turned out to be the biggest phony of all of them, all of them. Amongst all of them, he is the biggest fraud. Rush Limbaugh is a fraud. When he was accused of the drug usage, I supported him. But that man is a one-way street. It's all about him. He's in it for nobody but himself.; 5/19/09, 9:00 PM
Jeremy said...: Hoosier Daddy said..."Well considering that Obama is content with China financing his spending spree..."

I realize you spend the day nibbling corn, but where the fuck do you thnk the money has been coming from for the past eight years?

You actually believe the Chinese have become our biggest creditor...only since Obama came into office?

Even YOU'RE not that stupid.

Then again...; 5/19/09, 9:03 PM
Anonymous said...: After watching the collapse of the Dems' opposition to the Bush anit-terror methods, I wonder when they are going to apologize to all their gullible followers, now driven insane by incurable BDS caused by the 8-year jihad.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/05/the-destructive-emotion-du-jour-bitterness.html; 5/19/09, 9:06 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: I realize you spend the day nibbling corn, but where the fuck do you thnk the money has been coming from for the past eight years?.

China. In fact it was coming from them even before Bushitler usurped the White House from Sir Gore the Green Knight.

You actually believe the Chinese have become our biggest creditor...only since Obama came into office?.

Nope and never said he did. If you actually read what I posted:

Well considering that Obama is content with China financing his spending spree.

Which means he is content with the continued borrowing of money we are rapidly losing the ability to repay. See I didn't like it when Bush was spending money we don't have and I like it even less now.

While you think I'm stupid, I'm not resorting to the 3rd grade argument of 'well he did it tooooooo!!!!' as a defense of continuing bad behavior.; 5/19/09, 9:19 PM
Revenant said...: China and Brazil say it is coming the appropriate time to destroy the dollar as the world's reserve currency..

I'm skeptical that China wants the dollar devalued. Not only would that raise the US price of Chinese goods and services -- it would also devalue the $768 billion they currently have in their banks. They're probably just making waves to get a better deal on US treasuries.; 5/19/09, 10:01 PM
Henry said...: There must be a prison somewhere that Obama can close. Can he re-close Alcatrez?; 5/19/09, 10:04 PM
Steven said...: "Warning by King Abdullah of Jordan that no help will be coming to contain Iran - and likely war or a new oil embargo directed at Israel and any supporters of it's Settlements....unless America forces Israel into a two-state solution.".

So, who is going to force the Palestinians into a two-state solution?

You know how you can tell Palestinians who genuinely want a two-state solution from those who simply see the negotiating table as another place to continue the 61-year campaign to destroy Israel? They acknowledge the "Palestinian right of return" is fundamentally incompatible with a two-state solution, and that the Palestinian "refugees" will have to settle in the Arab state, not Israel.

There has yet to be a single Palestinian leader of any significance whatsoever willing to consider a genuine two-state solution. The last time the Palestinians were offered one, they launched the Second Intifada.; 5/19/09, 10:53 PM
JAL said...: Palladian writes: The Obama administration are becoming old pros at one thing: blaming other people...

President Obama was a pro at this long before he got to the White House.

It was someone else's handwriting on the answer sheet, remember ...

And it was always some staffer who did whatever ...

And I am sure someone other than the Senator Obama was responsible for disposing of his state senate records ...

All those smart people who voted for HopeAndChange and nobody noticed a pattern.; 5/19/09, 11:27 PM
Anonymous said...: Jennifer: Well, they did promise transparency...Obama's lies are so transparent that birds crash into them.; 5/20/09, 12:25 AM
Revenant said...: So, who is going to force the Palestinians into a two-state solution?

That's the real trick, isn't it?; 5/20/09, 12:28 AM
AllenS said...: Most people here have been calling, and correctly so, that Obama is an empty suit. It's becoming more clear to me, that he's nothing more than a blowhard.; 5/20/09, 5:43 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: AllenS:

If blowhard means he is wrong on just about everything (like Slow Joe Biden or as I like to call The Irish Big Mouth aka IBM), I agree.

So far, it seems smarter adults have successfully dissuaded Obama re his foreign policy & security wrongheadness. I am waiting for that to happen on his wrongheaded econ policies which are destroying what is left of our economy.; 5/20/09, 8:12 AM
AllenS said...: What I meant, AJ, is that he just opens up his mouth and boasts.; 5/20/09, 8:27 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: So far, it seems smarter adults have successfully dissuaded Obama re his foreign policy & security wrongheadness..

To a certain extent, yes. With regard to Iraq and Afghanistan he's Bush Reduex. With regard to the NORKS and Iran, he appears to be resigned to them joining the nuclear club and all the joy that will bring to the region.

Evidently Mr. Barely thinks that new CAFE standards will reduce our dependency on ME oil but fails to realize that a nuclear Iran will either a) Cause and arms race among Sunni Arab states who don't wish to be under the thumb of the Shiite Persians or b) will cement our presence in the ME forever as a shield against Dinner Jacket's nukes much as we are in Japan and S. Korea.

Honestly the guy just doesn't get it or doesn't care. I'm not sure which is more frightening.; 5/20/09, 8:42 AM
Unknown said...: "Jeremy said...

Radio Talking Head Wingnut Cat Fight:

SAVAGE: And yet here in America, I've had some people come to my aid. They see the bigger picture. They're not like [Bill] O'Reilly; they're not like Limbaugh, who's the biggest disappointment of all. Limbaugh has turned out to be the biggest phony of all of them, all of them. Amongst all of them, he is the biggest fraud. Rush Limbaugh is a fraud. When he was accused of the drug usage, I supported him. But that man is a one-way street. It's all about him. He's in it for nobody but himself."

So obvious you don't have a clue about what you think you know. This is Savage's persecution complex on display.; 5/20/09, 10:40 AM