Obama’s Guests

Guantanamo Prisoners to be Detained in Home State of the President

Unable to execute one of his pre-election promises on time — closing the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison within a year — the U.S. President, Barack Obama, decided to pinpoint the location where 215 of the prisoners will be transferred. It is symbolic that the new haven chosen for the terrorists is on native soil of the first president from that state [Editor’s note: since Ronald Reagan] – Illinois. This is the state that Obama represented in the Senate and that is why Illinois has more or less accepted his decision to place the captured terrorists on American soil.

According to a document signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the definitive and irrevocable decision of the White House administration will provide the transfer of some very dangerous detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the border of Illinois and Iowa. Thus, the U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, will be in charge of acquiring the empty, high-security correctional facility located near the small town of Thompson.

The local prison, having met all the requirements for such an establishment, was constructed in 2001. It was paid for by the state and cost 145 million dollars. However, according to the State of Illinois Department of Corrections, despite the money spent on the construction, the prison has a capacity of 1600, but currently holds only 144 inmates. The governor of the state, Pat Quinn, said that he will ask a fair price for the Thompson correctional facility, located 240 km [approximately 150 miles] west of Chicago. However, the “fair price” for the given establishment, will most likely be very small, since Quinn and other state officials have already started to discuss the influx of federal money to Illinois, which could add up to a billion dollars.

The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon has plans to send 1,000 to 1,500 [Editor’s note: original translation stated 15,000] troops for renovations and protection of this new prison and its surrounding territory. It is interesting that the few inhabitants of this small town, Thompson, with a population of no more than 600 people, are enthusiastic about the Guantanamo move. In particular, the local farmers, many of whom were seriously crippled by the recession, are inspired by the prospect of well paid prison jobs.

The activists who favor the closing of the “inhumane” prison in Guantanamo Bay have already given their complete support to Obama for his decision. But the skeptics support their claims that the U.S. should not detain the terrorists on its soil because they would have access to all the rights reserved for American prisoners.