ARRIVAL OF 1ST GITMO DETAINEE IS PREMATURE - NOWHERE TO GO POST-CONVICTION...BUT, MONEY TALKS
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 07:19AM 
Guantanamo Prison
The first Guantanamo detainee, Ahmed Ghailani, has arrived on U.S. soil to face trial for a bombing in 1998 that killed 12 Americans, 224 people in all. Article here.
He's an American detainee, accused of killing Americans; thus, he should be tried by America. Fine.
But then what? It reminds me of when I was in high school and my parents wanted to send me to boarding school...or somewhere...for being a "bad kid"...even though they wanted to give me the boot and punish me, they had to formulate an exit plan first: Where do we sent this kid?
Obama needs to determine where to send these boys! Instead, he's brought this guy over to the U.S., with no idea where he'll be permanently placed. That's just silly.
Issue is WHERE not WHEN
President Obama has not resolved the issue of where the Gitmo detainees will serve their sentences, if convicted, even though he promised to close Gitmo down by January 2010. But how can he close the doors on Gitmo before having new doors open? What a premature promise!
How Much Will You Give Me to Take Them In - The Prison "Industry" Will Prevail
Money talks. As of right now, it doesn't seem like any states want the detainees. We know Obama asked for $81 million to close Gitmo. But how much will it cost to house these guys in America? How much are the Feds willing to give the states for these guys? There has been talk on the Hill about states (per the Governors' consent) being given extra money if they agree to house the convicted detainees. Article here.
Our prison system is currently extremely overcrowded. Keep in mind, there are only 240 detainees; it's not like we are talking about thousands of beds here. But, these men will be housed in the maximum security facilities. It will cost taxpayers millions of dollars per year, per Gitmo convict, to house these men.
This issue of "WHERE" gives states a tremendous bargaining chip in this time of financial crisis. States that decide to house these men are in a position to receive an additional hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
Overcrowding may become a secondary issue...give the states enough money and they'll surely find a way to put these dudes somewhere. Money talks!
Prison Industry Allows for Private Companies to Profit Too
Modern day slavery still occurs in the prisons. Corporations pay prisoners pennies on the dollar for work. Be on the lookout fo lobbyists supporting the states bringing the detainees to the state pen. They can make some cash off of them too. See my blog on this here.