Powell Hits Back At Cheney, GOP On Gitmo Closing

Colin Powell hit back at Dick Cheney and other critics over the president's plan to close Guantanamo Bay on Sunday. Scoffing at the notion that U.S. jails couldn't house suspected terrorists, he said that the facility has become a blight on America's image.
In an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," the former Secretary of State noted that he had called for Gitmo's closure for "the past six years," and argued that the former vice president's defense of the detention center put him at odds even with his former boss.
"Mr. Cheney is not only disagreeing with President Obama's policy, he is disagreeing with President Bush's policy. President Bush stated repeatedly to international audiences and to the country that he wanted to close Guantanamo." LinkHere

Former, current military chiefs back Obama on Guantanamo

President Barack Obama gained support for closing Guantanamo from a current and a former military leader Sunday despite opposition in Congress to moving “war on terror” suspects to the United States.
Colin Powell, the former secretary of state and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in Republican administrations, and Admiral Michael Mullen, the current head of the joint chiefs, said on separate television shows that the “war on terror” prison should be closed.
“I felt Guantanamo should be closed for the past six years, and I lobbied and presented reasons to President (George W.) Bush,” Powell said in an interview with CBS television.
With former vice president Dick Cheney leading the charge, Republicans have attacked Obama for promising to close the prison camp by January without a plan for dealing with the estimated 240 terror suspects held there.
Democratic lawmakers also have opposed transferring potentially dangerous prisoners to US prisons, forcing Obama to defend his “war on terror” policies in a major speech this week.
In an interview with ABC television, Mullen said he had long been an advocate for closing the prison because it “has been a recruiting symbol for those extremists and jihadists who would fight us.”
Asked about Cheney’s charge that the recruitment argument amounted to blaming “America for the evil others do,” Mullen said, “It’s my judgment that (Guantanamo) has had an impact (on recruiting). And it’s time to move on.”
He acknowledged the difficulties of figuring out what to do with suspects who are too dangerous to release but cannot be tried, and how to ensure that those released do not return to the fight. LinkHere