California Conservative

The Obama administration is suspending its transfer of Gitmo detainees to Yemen:

The U.S. will not transfer any detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Yemen right now, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.

Ninety detainees in Gitmo are from Yemen, which is combating a resurgent Al Qaeda.

Alleged Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is also said to have gotten training in Yemen before carrying explosives on a Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. His attempt to detonate the bomb was foiled when his device malfunctioned and he was tackled by a passenger.

“One of the very first things Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula used as a tool was Gitmo,” Gibbs said. “We’re not going to make transfers to a country like Yemen that they’re not capable of handling (the detainees). While we remain committed to closing the detention facility, the determination has been made that right now any additional transfers to Yemen is not a good idea.”

The announcement comes as President Obama misses his original deadline for closing the facility, a pledge he made on his first week in office.

Gibbs said court trials will begin for several individuals currently in Guantanamo Bay.

This is predictable, especially considering the public’s outcry over this policy.

Public outcry doesn’t guarantee that this administration will change courses. Think health care.

What this means, other than doing the right thing, is that President Obama wants to get this off the table so he can refocus his efforts on health care negotiations. I haven’t seen proof that fighting terrorists is this administration’s highest priority. Quite the contrary. It looks like it’s a fair distance down President Obama’s list.

Regardless of President Obama’s motivation for this policy swith, it’s the right thing to do, which is my first priority.

Technorati Tags: Yemen, Terrorists, Gitmo Detainees, President Obama, National Security, Health Care

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog