WASHINGTON — President Obama's decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, one of his first acts after taking office, is putting fellow Democrats on the political hot seat as word spreads that terrorism suspects and other detainees would be relocated to the U.S. or transferred to domestic prisons.
States and municipalities around the country are saying "not in my backyard," and Republicans are raising the prospect of relocated detainees putting Americans in danger.
"By releasing trained terrorists into civilian communities in the United States, the administration will, by definition, endanger the American people," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
In several states, legislators have introduced or passed resolutions opposing the transfer of detainees to correctional facilities or military bases in their areas. One Montana town volunteered to take detainees into its empty prison, only to be denounced by the state's entire congressional delegation.
"Not on my watch," said Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.).
Northern Virginia is preparing to receive as many as seven Chinese Muslims, who may be the first detainees to be released from Guantanamo for resettlement in the U.S. Officials no longer consider the Chinese Muslims, who are ethnic Uighurs, to be "enemy combatants" but fear they would be mistreated if returned to China.
The GOP effort to spotlight the issue is part of a campaign to sow anxiety about Obama's stewardship of national security. Shifting their focus from the economic issues that have dominated the Washington debate, Republicans have been trying to portray Obama's presidency as one that has made the nation less secure.
In a Web video that includes images of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) asks, "Just what is the administration's overarching plan to take on the terrorist threat and to keep America safe?"
Some fellow Republicans, such as former Rep. Joe Scarborough of Florida, now a conservative talk-show host, viewed that as an inappropriate scare tactic.
"It seems very discordant right now," said Scarborough on NBC's "Meet the Press." "The president has just gotten in. We can disagree without being disagreeable right now."
But Republicans have criticized Obama for relaxing relations with Cuba, releasing details of Bush-era harsh interrogation techniques and shaking hands at a recent summit with Hugo Chavez, the anti-American president of Venezuela.
