1 of 2 | Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) greets Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) (R) as fellow Senators watch prior to a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the budget estimates for the war supplemental for the FY2009 budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 30, 2009. (UPI Photo/Kevin Dietsch) |
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WASHINGTON, May 9 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay could endanger Americans, Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., said Saturday.
Bond, in the weekly Republican radio address, said: "While President Obama has no plan for what to do with these killers, he has pledged to close the terrorist-detention facility in January to fulfill a campaign promise," Bond said. "This is a dangerous case of putting symbolism over security."
Bond, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the president's plan a "ready, fire, aim" strategy.
"When it comes to national security decisions, I prefer aiming before shooting, which is why I keep calling on President Obama to tell us, the American people, how his plan to close Guantanamo will make our nation safer," he said, according to a GOP transcript of his remarks.
Bond noted Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress recently that as many as 100 detainees could make their way to U.S. prisons. Bond said at least 18 former detainees have gone back to fighting U.S. forces, according to the Pentagon, and 43 more may have done so.
"There are no easy solutions here. But, having no solution and moving forward with the closing (of) the prison at Guantanamo is a dangerous gamble with our security here at home and our troops abroad," Bond said. "I, for one, am not willing to gamble with our national security."