Reid Shifts On Gitmo After Obama Speech

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday he was open to discussing with President Obama the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay and the relocation of detainees.
That discussion will include the possible relocation of detainees to the United States to stand trial and, if convicted, be sent to prison. But Reid did not back off his previously stated opposition to such a transfer, stopping short at a willingness to talk about it. LinkHere

Guantanamo has become the symbol of the severe missteps that our country took in recent years. Sen. Patrick Leahy: Time to Support the President and Close the Facility at Guantanamo Bay

President Obama said in his campaign and he has repeated since the first days of his presidency that we must keep our nation safe and secure, but we must do it in ways consistent with our values. Now that is a sentiment I share, and one that I voiced in hearings and statements for years as well. And to President Obama's credit and to the benefit of the Nation, he has worked since his first day in office to turn these words into action and to make our national security policy and our detainee policy consistent with American laws and American values. And that, in turn, makes us more secure.
I have supported President Obama in these steps, and I will continue to do so. That is why I have voted against amendments to withhold funding to close the Guantanamo detention facility and to prohibit any Guantanamo detainees from being brought to the United States. These amendments undermine the good work the president is doing, and they make us less safe, not safer.
I believe strongly, as all Americans do, that we must take every step we can to prevent terrorism, and we must ensure severe punishments for those who do us harm. As a former prosecutor, I have never shied away from harsh sentences for those who commit atrocious acts. I point out that at times, I've requested -- and gotten -- for people I prosecuted, life sentences where they served without parole.
I believe strongly that we can ensure our safety and security, and bring terrorists to justice, in ways that are consistent with our laws and values. When we have strayed from that approach -- when we have tortured people in our custody, or sent people to other countries to be tortured, or held people for years without even giving them the chance to go to court to argue that they were being held in error -- we have hurt our national security immeasurably. Our allies have been less willing to help our counter-terrorism efforts. That's made our military men and women more vulnerable and our country less safe. Terrorists have used our actions as a tool to recruit new members, which means we must fend off more enemies. Worse still, we have lost our ability to respond with moral authority if other countries should mistreat American soldiers or civilians.

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