No money for Gitmo until details known

I just have to make a little known point about government and how it should work. This week the Democrats have said no to a Democratic president in regards to the closing of the Gitmo prison in Cuba.

They voted not to give any money for the closing until details are brought forward on how it will be closed and where the detainees will be moved. I say that's how it's supposed to be. You don't have to go along and be a rubber stamp, and you're no less an American just because you disagree, unlike what we had in the past.

I don't agree with the fear factor being touted by the other party, that we cannot have these evil people on our soil and it's a national security interest.

Hogwash. We have terrorists in prison from the first bombing of the World Trade Center and, as far as I know, no one has ever escaped from a maximum-security prison. Of the original 700-plus that were at Gitmo, I believe only one or two have been convicted and only a little over 200 remain awaiting trials, and the rest were freed.

It's pretty sketchy how most of the detainees were captured and we do know that money was a factor in who was arrested.

It is imperative to get to the bottom of this and sort out who the bad guys are and prosecute them and send the rest back where they came from. Here's the real national security concern: as long as Gitmo remains open, the longer it can be used as a recruitment tool by the terrorists who are bent on doing harm to America.

This is not bending and giving in to terrorists. It is the right and smart thing to do.

Charles Bellizzi

Streamwood