WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) on Tuesday issued the following statement about the Obama administration’s plans to relocate terrorist detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to Ft. Leavenworth, KS:
“I have pledged to the people of Kansas that I would do everything in my power to stop President Obama from moving terrorist detainees to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, the intellectual center of the Army. I believe today that I can tell Kansans that the threat from this administration will go unfulfilled.
“Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work, who would be responsible for leading the plans to relocate terrorist detainees at Ft. Leavenworth, assured me at a May 10 meeting that, ‘I am the person who would have to execute it [the moving of detainees to the mainland], and the clock has run out.’
“Now I want to be clear that I know this will not change the president’s on-going insistence that he will close the facilities before he leaves office.
“But I take Deputy Secretary Work at his word. He understands the significant and costly changes that would need to be made at Ft. Leavenworth to change the post’s mission. He understands the myriad of challenges that Ft. Leavenworth poses after reviewing earlier analyses. Most importantly, he understands the legal restrictions on funding to move the detainees to Ft. Leavenworth by January 20, 2017.”
In recent years, Congress has withheld funding for all detainee transfers to the mainland. Those same funding prohibitions are moving through the process now as the Congress considers funding for the new fiscal year beginning October 1.
Senator Roberts thanked Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) for working with him to strengthen prohibitions on funding for the transfer of detainees to the mainland in this year’s National Defense Authorizations Act.
“Looking at the task before the administration, it is increasingly improbable that they can jeopardize our national security by bringing high-value terrorists and their associated risks to an American community like Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
“Because of assurances given to me by the Department of Defense and Congress’s continued opposition, today I have lifted my hold on the nomination of Eric Fanning to be the Secretary of the Army.
“I look forward to voting for Mr. Fanning who has always had my support for this position. My hold was never about his courage, character or capability, but rather about our nation’s security if the detainees were moved to Ft. Leavenworth. I believe Eric Fanning will be a tremendous leader for the Army, including those who serve at Ft. Leavenworth and Ft. Riley in my state. I thank Mr. Fanning for his efforts and look forward to working with him.”
“As the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General have testified before Congress, moving detainees to the mainland is prohibited by law and will remain so through the end of this president’s term.”
Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, is the home to the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, which houses military prisoners. Enemy combatants may not be housed with members of the U.S. military. Fort Leavenworth is also home to the Command and General Staff College, the Intellectual Center of the Army, where all Army officers study. The post is located in the town of Leavenworth, Kansas.
In March, Roberts introduced a Senate resolution formally rejecting President Obama’s plan to transfer prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities to an alternate location in American communities. The resolution is cosponsored by Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). The full text of the resolution is available here.
Senator Roberts is the most senior Marine in the Congress. He was Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from 2003-2007. He has visited Guantanamo Bay twice.