Closing Gitmo “Will be an Uphill Battle” for Obama Administration

U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), who has been at the forefront of the fightagainst President Obama’s plan to relocate dangerous international terrorists currently held in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba to any domestic sites on US soil, issued the following statement following President Obama’s comments on Guantanamo during his end of year press conference:

“It’s clear that President Obama plans to continue to ignore current federal law, the will of the American people and common sense when it comes to Guantanamo Bay. During today’s press conference, he admitted that he wants to “steadily chip away at the numbers in Guantanamo,” ultimately closing the facility.

“That he continues to put a misguided campaign promise and his legacy before national security is shocking, but sadly now normal for this president. In a deeply divided Washington, one thing is clear, the U.S. Congress has spoken loudly and repeatedly on behalf of Americans to stop his plan to empty out the facility, and have soundly rejected it. For me, I do not simply oppose moving Guantanamo Bay terrorists to South Carolina-I strongly oppose any efforts to close Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp and move its detainees to anywhere in the U.S. or the rest of the world.

“However, I do agree with the president on one thing, “it will be an uphill battle” for him to close Gitmo. I will continue to do whatever I can to stop his dangerous plan. There is no plan or study that shows transferring prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to South Carolina or any other domestic location will make America safer. Any effort to remove them from the facility only allows a possibility of them returning to their previous lives as vicious terrorists who are ready, willing and able to kill innocent people across the world, which we have seen more than once in recent years.”