(KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
It appears tonight that Illinois is the front-runner to become the new Guantanamo. Up to a hundred suspected terrorists could be moved from Guantanamo to federal prisons in the U.S. Of the five locations reportedly being considered, two are in Illinois. The front-runner appears to be the small Mississippi river town of Thomson, Illinois, about 300 miles north of St. Louis. But locations in Michigan, Colorado, Montana, and in Marion, Illinois are also in the running:
Federal officials Monday toured the Thomson prison which was built by Illinois in 2001 but never used because of budget shortages. It has room for 1,600 inmates. But the federal prison in Marion, Illinois near Carbondale is also being considered. Marion's held everyone from mobster John Gotti to spy Jonathan Pollard.
Robert Butler, the mayor of Marion, IL, says, "Nobody wants them. Somebody has to take them. I do not know of a better place to house such people than in the federal facility here."
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin says, "President Obama has given us this opportunity and it's an opportunity we should seize and I hope we're successful in this competition."
It is a competition the Illinois G.O.P calls a national security threat
Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk, a republican, says, "Gitmo is not being closed. It's being moved. Thereby making this area of the country and the entire country a magnet for terrorists."
But a St. Louis counter-terror and Afghanistan expert says the effect might be the opposite: converting jihadists into mere criminals.
Washington University's Robert Canfield says, "Symbolically, it means that they are now, essentially, prisoners. They're essentially criminals, and they probably will be held for the rest of their lives in these places. They will diminish in stature. Guantanamo made them famous."
The administration has already decided to put alleged 9-11 planner Khalid Sheik Mohammad and other Guantanamo suspects on trial in New York federal courts. Moving Guantanamo detainees to federal prisons in the U.S. is part of that strategy.
Canfield says, "Guantanamo made them martyrs and heroes. And I think it would be a great gift if we could arrange to get them out of that scene and close down Guantanamo."
So far, there is no time frame about when a prison location in the U.S. will be chosen. Officials in Marion, Illinois tell me they didn't lobby to receive the Guantanamo prisoners. They say they were contacted by Senator Durbin.
Federal officials Monday toured the Thomson prison which was built by Illinois in 2001 but never used because of budget shortages. It has room for 1,600 inmates. But the federal prison in Marion, Illinois near Carbondale is also being considered. Marion's held everyone from mobster John Gotti to spy Jonathan Pollard.
Robert Butler, the mayor of Marion, IL, says, "Nobody wants them. Somebody has to take them. I do not know of a better place to house such people than in the federal facility here."
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin says, "President Obama has given us this opportunity and it's an opportunity we should seize and I hope we're successful in this competition."
It is a competition the Illinois G.O.P calls a national security threat
Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk, a republican, says, "Gitmo is not being closed. It's being moved. Thereby making this area of the country and the entire country a magnet for terrorists."
But a St. Louis counter-terror and Afghanistan expert says the effect might be the opposite: converting jihadists into mere criminals.
Washington University's Robert Canfield says, "Symbolically, it means that they are now, essentially, prisoners. They're essentially criminals, and they probably will be held for the rest of their lives in these places. They will diminish in stature. Guantanamo made them famous."
The administration has already decided to put alleged 9-11 planner Khalid Sheik Mohammad and other Guantanamo suspects on trial in New York federal courts. Moving Guantanamo detainees to federal prisons in the U.S. is part of that strategy.
Canfield says, "Guantanamo made them martyrs and heroes. And I think it would be a great gift if we could arrange to get them out of that scene and close down Guantanamo."
So far, there is no time frame about when a prison location in the U.S. will be chosen. Officials in Marion, Illinois tell me they didn't lobby to receive the Guantanamo prisoners. They say they were contacted by Senator Durbin.
