Senators reject closing Gitmo without a plan

May 20, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison suffered a blow Tuesday when his allies in the Senate said they would refuse to finance the move until the administration delivers a satisfactory plan for what to do with the detainees there.

As the Senate took up Obama’s request for money for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Democrats reversed course and said they would deny the request for $80 million for the Justice and Defense departments to relocate the 240 detainees at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They also said they would bar the transfer of any of the facility’s prisoners until the plan is delivered.

While allies such as No. 2 Senate Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois cast the development as a delay of only a few months, other Democrats have made it plain they don’t want any of Guantanamo’s detainees sent to the United States to stand trial or serve prison sentences.

“We don’t want them around,” said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The Senate move matches steps taken by the House and threatens to paralyze the Obama administration’s entire plan to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by January. In recent weeks, Attorney General Eric Holder had sought to reassure skeptical lawmakers, but Congress appears unconvinced and may force the detention facility to remain in operation.

It’s also evidence that a weeks-long GOP effort against Obama’s order to close the Guantanamo facility is paying off.

“Guantanamo is the perfect place for these terrorists,” said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Even Durbin acknowledged that Obama had put Democrats in an awkward spot by sending up a request for funding to close the prison without an accompanying plan.

“The feeling was at this point we were defending the unknown. We were being asked to defend a plan that hasn’t been announced,” Durbin said. “And the administration said, ‘Understood. Give us time to put together that plan and we’ll come to you in the next appropriations bill.’ ’’

White House Press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that lawmakers were correct to insist on details on closing the detention facility. He said the president on Thursday would outline “a hefty part” of his agenda for the often-criticized facility.