Examiner Editorial: Nobody wants a terrorist for a neighbor

President Barack Obama made a serious mistake when he decided to close the U.S. prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without first figuring out where to put the 240 detainees held there. Most of these people are hard-core jihadists whose main goal in life is to kill Americans.

Obama can call it an “overseas contingency operation,” but for the Gitmo detainees it is a declared war against us and terrorism is their weapon of choice. Despite these realities, Obama seems determined to shut down Gitmo — even if that means transferring the detainees to less secure facilities in the U.S.

There were warning signs during Obama’s first European tour that the idea of closing Gitmo and transferring the detainees to other countries wouldn’t fly. For all of Obama’s star status with ordinary Europeans, their leaders were nearly unanimous in refusing to accept any of the Gitmo detainees. France was the sole exception in agreeing to allow one detainee onto its soil. That’s right, one.

Although it’s perhaps tempting for some Americans to ascribe the Europeans’ reluctance to a certain familiar fecklessness, the more likely explanation is they aren’t fools. Many of these prisoners are among the world’s most dangerous individuals. Permitting them to become residents of European jails would likely invite reprisals by terrorist groups seeking the detainees’ release.

The same common sense explains why nobody in Congress — except Rep. Jim Moran, the Democrat from Virginia — has stepped forward volunteering their constituents to host detainees. Even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that funding for the Gitmo closure depends on the Obama administration showing Congress a coherent plan for relocating detainees.

When such a plan will be forthcoming is anybody’s guess. Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has yet to receive responses to either of two letters he sent to Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the administration’s plans. As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday: “I can’t think of a congressional district in America that would welcome terrorists. Local communities want the administration to explain how transferring or releasing detainees won’t make them ‘less safe’. And the American people want the administration to explain its plans to their elected representatives in Congress.”

The administration’s reticence suggests White House officials now realize they have painted themselves into one very uncomfortable corner.