The Indiana Legislature is afraid of Guantánamo Detainees

In what I like to describe as an ongoing effort to undermine what little credibility their party retains, Republican senators Stutzman, Buck, Yoder, and Walker of the Indiana General Assembly introduced on 02 February 2009 to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Transportation & Veterans Affairs Senate Concurrent Resolution 25, which essentially states "Please don't send any Guantánamo detainees to Indiana unless they've been sentenced to death." On 17 February, the resolution was brought before the Senate in Roll Call 102, where it received 31 Yeas and 19 Nays. In defense of the Republicans, three of them (Kenley, Waltz, and Dillon) were smart enough to detect the glaring contradiction in the resolution and vote "Nay", while one Democrat (Mrvan) decided to support it. The rest of the Republicans voted "Yea" and the Democrats voted "Nay." The resolution has been sent to the House, but no hearing has yet been scheduled.

SCR 25 is a fairly brief resolution, so I'll reproduce it in its entirety here:

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging President Obama and his Administration to recognize Indiana's position against accepting detainees from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba in light of the Executive Order closing the prison facility within a year of its signing on January 22, 2009.

Whereas, The Guantánamo Bay Detention Facility is a United States detention center operated by Joint Task Force Guantánamo since 2001 in Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, which is on the shore of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba;

Whereas, According to the United States Department of Defense, of the more than 240 prisoners currently in Guantánamo, about 100 are considered too dangerous to be released from U.S. custody; about 80 could face criminal charges in U.S. courts but could be freed if acquitted; and about 60 have been cleared for release _ but cannot be sent home because their own countries would likely harm them;

Whereas, Detainees housed within the detention facility are considered extreme threats to national security. Security necessary to safely detain these individuals as well as deter attacks to free them require the concerted effort of the United States Army Military Police, United States Department of Homeland Security, and Navy Master-at-Arms;

Whereas, By the authority of the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to effect the appropriate disposition of individuals currently detained by the Department of Defense at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, President Obama signed the Executive Order announcing the closure of the Guantánamo Detention Facility on January 22, 2009;

Whereas, By promptly closing the detention facility at Guantánamo, consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice, President Obama established his Administration would not accept "a false choice between our safety and our ideals." With this Executive Order, the President suspended all ongoing military tribunals, and established the closure of the detention facility to take place within a year of the order's signing;

Whereas, The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State will effect the transfer or release of individuals consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States as established by the Executive Order; and

Whereas, For the safety of Indiana residents and to avoid making Indiana a target for future terrorist attacks, the Indiana General Assembly respectfully requests that those currently detained at Guantánamo Bay not be relocated to the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana or any future facility within the State; Therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate ____ of the General Assembly

of the State of Indiana, the House of Representatives ____ concurring:

SECTION 1: That for the safety of Indiana residents and to avoid making Indiana the target of future terrorist attacks, the General Assembly hereby urges President Obama and his Administration to recognize Indiana's request to refrain from relocating detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute as a result of the Executive Order signed on January 22, 2009.

SECTION 2: That the General Assembly recognizes the Federal Correctional Complex contains the United States Penitentiary, the only federal penitentiary housing a death row. The General Assembly does not object to Guantanamo detainees justly tried, convicted and sentenced to execution being held in the Special Confinement Unit of the United States Penitentiary.

SECTION 3: That the Secretary of the Senate transmit a copy to the President of the United States, the Vice-President of the United States, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, the U.S. Director of Homeland Security, Senator Evan Bayh, Senator Richard G. Lugar, Representative Dan Burton, Representative Steve Buyer, Representative André Carson, Representative Joe Donnelly, Representative Brad Ellsworth, Representative Baron Hill, Representative Mike Pence, Representative Mike E. Souder, and Representative Peter Visclosky.

The notable absence of any reference to the conditions in which detainees are being held or the legality of said detentions is fairly typical of the political debate on this issue. Among other things, an examination of the conditions and legalities of the detentions in Guantánamo might lead to embarrassing questions about the conditions of the prisons in the State of Indiana, and we mustn't have that.

I find the lack of internal logic in the resolution---and its implications regarding the reasoning powers of its authors---the most surprising. This is the General Assembly we're speaking of, which is supposed to represent an able body of decision makers. Resolution 25, however, probably wouldn't pass the scrutiny of a high schooler. A cursory examination reveals two critical flaws that completely undermine the the entire resolution.

The first problem with this resolution is the threat posed by the detainees. The claims that the detainees languishing in the Guantánamo Prison Camp were dangerous threats to our national security were originally made by Bush's White House. When this claim was challenged in individual cases, the DoD usually claimed that the evidence was classified. Despite the many indications that the Bush administration's claim was false, the Indiana legislature (or at least the 31 senators who support the resolution) seems to have accepted it. Moreover, by labeling all the detainees as a threat, these senators also appear to be issuing a preemptive rejection of any judgment by the Obama administration that does not conform to the previous claims of the Bush administration. Their faith in the public to select a trustworthy candidate has been duly noted.

The second, and more obvious, problem, is the inability to reconcile the status of the detainees with the threat they pose to the people of Indiana. In section one, the resolution states that "for the safety of Indiana residents and to avoid making Indiana the target of future terrorist attacks, the General Assembly hereby urges President Obama and his Administration to recognize Indiana's request to refrain from relocating detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute". In section two, however, it states, "The General Assembly does not object to Guantanamo detainees justly tried, convicted and sentenced to execution being held in the Special Confinement Unit of the United States Penitentiary." So these hypothetical terrorists will apparently only attack Indiana to free or avenge their comrades who have not yet been tried. The ones who are sentenced to death, on the other hand, must never have been very popular. A more cynical conclusion may be that this resolution is simply a partisan attempt to create static for the incumbent President without going so far that it compromises a lucrative agreement under which Indiana houses the U.S. Penitentiary.

As I mentioned, this resolution has not yet reached the House, so those of you who live in Indiana can find the information to contact your Representative here to suggest that she or he think the resolution through a bit before signing off on it.Representative Truitt has already assured me that he will "keep my thoughts in mind" if he is given the opportunity to vote on the resolution.