Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Fallout of Closing Gitmo at Army College?   [Candace de Russy]

A vast federal penitentiary abuts the Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, which hundreds of elite foreign officers attend each year. If and when President Obama shuts down Guantanamo — as he remains committed to doing — what Ralph Peters calls "one Washington-isn't-thinking proposal would park the terrorists right there in the Big House."

What would be the repercussions of such an arrangement?

At CGSC, our officers build international relationships that benefit our country for decades to come, while allies and partners learn how to work together. But with Islamist terrorists confined next door — hardly a mile as the crow flies from the Staff College — Muslim countries would withdraw their students from the program under pressure from Islamist factions at home — who'd claim that Ft. Leavenworth was the new Gitmo.

Have the president and his allies who have made of Gitmo a symbol of evil envisaged this consequence? Peters and the American public deserve an answer to his questions:

Do we really want to sacrifice our chance to educate officers from the troubled Muslim world? Do we want to destroy an educational program that's been of tremendous benefit? One that's advanced the rule of law and human rights?

05/27 05:40 PMShare