Verdict From the GOP: Obama is Wrong
President Barack Obama talks about national security, Thursday, May 23, 2013, at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Congressional Republicans reacted strongly and negatively Thursday to PresidentBarack Obama’s proposals to close down the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, criticizing the possible move as “ill-conceived.”
They also panned his proposal to eventually repeal the post-9/11 law sending the U.S. military into action.
In response to Mr. Obama’s counterterrorism speech at the National Defense University, Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said closing Guantanamo would threaten the security of U.S. citizens at home and abroad.
Mr. Royce was also critical of the Mr. Obama for continuing “to mistakenly treat counterterrorism as a law enforcement issue.”
Similarly Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) termed Mr. Obama’s law enforcement view of terrorism and national security as “deeply misguided.” She said his plan “to close down the terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo Bay and send terrorists back to the battlefield might please his liberal base, but it would harm America’s national security and send a signal of retreat in the war against radical Islamic jihad.”
