Underwear Bombers and Guantanamo

From the beginning of this administration, people have been comparing Bush to Obama in about every way possible. One of, if not the most important issues to compare would be national security.

One of the main differences between the two would be the deadline set by Obama to shut down Guantanamo Bay.

Unfortunately for Obama, this closing of Guantanamo is yet another thing he fails to do on time, if at all.

The Obama administration is beginning to see that shutting down Guantanamo might not be as easy as…well one of Obama’s various other accomplishments such as….um….er…oh, speeches on how he is going to fix everything.
As Christopher Boucek wrote in his article “Guantanamo's Impact on U.S. National Security”, Obama is facing “ongoing problems finding countries willing to accept detainees.” This apparently came as a surprise to the Obama administration. Who wouldn’t want to welcome a bunch of trained murderers onto there soil?
The current administration is looking at transferring the detainees to a different location. The new location would be the Thompson correctional facility in Illinois.
We would not be solving any problems; we would be merely transferring Guantanamo to a different location. We would be moving these terrorists, who nobody else wants, to the heart of the US. Unless the Obama administration is looking for a real life sequel to “Escape from New York”, this seems like a really bad idea.
Another issue Obama faces with closing Guantanamo would be the most recent terrorist attack or Christmas day underwear bomber. The Obama administration seems surprised that terrorists are sill plugging away at our super secure airlines when we offered to shut down Guantanamo.
Is it possible that terrorist leaders such as Ben laden crossed their fingers and prayed to Allah that we would really shut down Guantanamo by Jan 22? Could it be that this warm fuzzy gesture from us did not illicit in them a desire to cuddle and make up? Is it possible that terrorists believe that the US is turning into a bunch of white flag waving, bowing, patsies?
With deterrents such as suffering in Guantanamo bay if you attempt to blow up a US plane gone, of course terrorist activity is encouraged. Now if terrorists are caught with there pants down they will be simply shipped of to Illinois.
Perhaps we could all give President Bush a little credit for his National Security policies. At least the leaders of the United States did not look like a bunch of little girls during Bush’s presidency. Bush went after the terrorists. The Obama administration tells terrorists that we will make their living conditions more pleasant if they are caught. Bush gave terrorists incentives to never ever get caught, to quit, and even to never start.
As Teddy Roosevelt commented, “speak softly but carry a big stick.” Unfortunately, all the Obama administration seems capable of doing is speaking softly and bending over.