House backs Guantánamo exit strategy
House backs Guantánamo exit strategy
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: May 18 2007 15:15 | Last updated: May 18 2007 15:15
The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $646bn defence budget that would force the Pentagon to prepare a plan to transfer prisoners out of Guantánamo Bay.
The huge 2008 defence budget also includes a controversial “Buy America” provision that would restrict the ability of the Pentagon to buy defence items from foreign suppliers.
The White House has threatened to veto any bill that includes the procurement restrictions, which it says would “jeopardise” US military readiness.
“Guantánamo is a stain on our reputation as a nation,” said James Moran, the Democrat congressman who introduced the measure.
“By keeping Gitmo open, we are providing a recruiting tool for extremists bent on doing us harm. Our values and ideals are what will win the global war on terror, not military might.”
Under the proposed legislation, the Pentagon would have 60 days to provide Congress with a report on plans for dealing with each of the just under 400 detainees at the Cuba-based detention facility.
Inside the Bush administration, Robert Gates, US defence secretary, has been advocating a move to try the prisoners on US soil.
Human rights groups have criticised the US for holding many detainees at Guantánamo without charge for several years.
The White House opposes the Guantánamo move, which it says would be an effort to “micromanage the detention of enemy combatants”.
The House bill, which was approved in a 397-27 vote, also reduces funding for a missile interceptor site in Poland, which would form part of the US ballistic missile defence shield.
The US has run into strong criticism from Russia over the proposal. The House bill, however, would restore the funding if the Pentagon reached agreement with Poland over hosting the missiles by October 2008.
The House bill also includes $142bn to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the fiscal year starting this October.
But that funding is separate from the emergency war spending bill that the Senate is currently debating.
President George W. Bush recently vetoed a funding bill approved by the Democratically-controlled Congress that imposed a deadline on withdrawing troops from Iraq.
The Senate yesterday voted to start negotiating with the House of Representatives over the emergency war funding bill.
Mr Gates recently warned Congress that failure to quickly approve the funds could force him to close parts of the Pentagon over the summer.
In addition to the Pentagon budget, Congress on Thursday approved a $2.9bn budget to fund the government in 2008.
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: May 18 2007 15:15 | Last updated: May 18 2007 15:15
The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $646bn defence budget that would force the Pentagon to prepare a plan to transfer prisoners out of Guantánamo Bay.
The huge 2008 defence budget also includes a controversial “Buy America” provision that would restrict the ability of the Pentagon to buy defence items from foreign suppliers.
The White House has threatened to veto any bill that includes the procurement restrictions, which it says would “jeopardise” US military readiness.
“Guantánamo is a stain on our reputation as a nation,” said James Moran, the Democrat congressman who introduced the measure.
“By keeping Gitmo open, we are providing a recruiting tool for extremists bent on doing us harm. Our values and ideals are what will win the global war on terror, not military might.”
Under the proposed legislation, the Pentagon would have 60 days to provide Congress with a report on plans for dealing with each of the just under 400 detainees at the Cuba-based detention facility.
Inside the Bush administration, Robert Gates, US defence secretary, has been advocating a move to try the prisoners on US soil.
Human rights groups have criticised the US for holding many detainees at Guantánamo without charge for several years.
The White House opposes the Guantánamo move, which it says would be an effort to “micromanage the detention of enemy combatants”.
The House bill, which was approved in a 397-27 vote, also reduces funding for a missile interceptor site in Poland, which would form part of the US ballistic missile defence shield.
The US has run into strong criticism from Russia over the proposal. The House bill, however, would restore the funding if the Pentagon reached agreement with Poland over hosting the missiles by October 2008.
The House bill also includes $142bn to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the fiscal year starting this October.
But that funding is separate from the emergency war spending bill that the Senate is currently debating.
President George W. Bush recently vetoed a funding bill approved by the Democratically-controlled Congress that imposed a deadline on withdrawing troops from Iraq.
The Senate yesterday voted to start negotiating with the House of Representatives over the emergency war funding bill.
Mr Gates recently warned Congress that failure to quickly approve the funds could force him to close parts of the Pentagon over the summer.
In addition to the Pentagon budget, Congress on Thursday approved a $2.9bn budget to fund the government in 2008.
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 8:17 AM
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