4:39:29 to 4:39:50( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: quorum call: mr. hatch: mad the presiding officer: the senator from mr. hatch: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be dispensed. .theresiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. hatch: i rise to express concerns over closure of guantanamo bay detention center. the closure of this nation's only secure strategic interrogation center puts our nation at risk.

4:40:12 to 4:40:32( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: from population centers and staffed by trained military personnel. guantanamo has no equal within the continental united states. on march 19, 2009, as reported by "the wall street journal," attorney general hold are made reference to the idea that the department of justice would bring some of the detainees

4:40:54 to 4:41:15( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: indeed, the manner in which this closure has been orchestrated has provided few details and little assurance about how this facility will be closed within the next eight months and what will be the superior alternative to guantanamo.

4:41:41 to 4:42:01( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: worked for or had direct contact with osama bin laden and 63 of the remaining detainees had traveled to tora bora and in 2001 the cave complex was the fall back taliban and believed to be the hideout for osama bin laden. not just anyone could access to

4:42:25 to 4:42:46( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: 63 traled to tora bora. the administration has stated that they will bring the chine uighurs to the sole purpose of releasing them. all 17 uighurs have demonstrated -- demonstrable ties to the etim, a designated terrorist

4:43:12 to 4:43:32( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: chinese nationals was hassan bin laden. the uighurs traveled to afghanistan by using al qaed resources. they were also lodged in al qaeda safe houses and terrorist training facilities. this alone is indicative of these -- that these terrorists were vetted and respected enough

4:43:55 to 4:44:15( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: the guantanamo uighurs have certainly met this definition. but to completely address this ac analysis one step further. the law also quote -- "any alien received military-type traing from or in behalf of any organization that at the time of training was received was a

4:44:38 to 4:44:59( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: a terrorist organization (as defined in "quilingsd also like to out that my esteemed from the judiciary committee has brought this to the the attorney general. my colleague has justice department's assertion

4:45:21 to 4:45:41( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: carefully analyzing what the unwanted by-products of that policy will be. i am interested in hearing the justice department's legal reason transfer. th attorney general holder described the closure of guantanamo as -- quo -- "good for all nations" -- unquote. he argued that anger over the

4:46:03 to 4:46:24( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: face a shortage of recruits for violent jiha prior to the media frenzy on the guantanamo facility. jihadists are ideologically motivated. jihadists are ideologically motivated. in fact, corroborated evidence obtained from interviews interrogations of detainees at

4:46:47 to 4:47:09( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: sily not willing to trade guantanamo for the possibility of trying to appease and become more popular with our critics living in foreign countries. popularity is an inappropriate and extremely mushy measure of policy soundness. many of our foreign critics would ke our nion to abandon its support for if our nation's popularity

4:47:31 to 4:47:52( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: its time line, as i -- as i have before me, guantanamo will closed in eight months. any detainees left in custody at the end of that time will be transported to the united states. i think it bears repeating that this transport will be from a secure state-of-the-art

4:48:14 to 4:48:36( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: now, it is worth noting that the bureau of prisonsoes not have enough space available to house these detainees in high-security facilities. b.o.p. -- bureau officials -- have previously stated that they consider these prisoners -- quote -- "a high security risk." as such they would need to house

4:48:59 to 4:49:20( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: scientists to see bureau of prisons could not receive these guantanamo detainees. the bureau's high-security facilities are already woefully overcrowded by nearly 7,000 inmates. look at the current population.

4:49:43 to 4:50:03( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: high-risk terrorists and certainly can't be in these high-risk f moreover, it does not be functional $200 million facility that has no equal domestically. why would the federal government transfer detainees from the

4:50:25 to 4:50:46( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: facility that guantanamo has become? a few weeks ago president obama asked his cabinet to to save $100 million from the federal budget. however, the president's defense supplemental contained $80 million for the guantanamo p. t administration had no plan on how to spend that

4:51:08 to 4:51:29( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: guantanamo bay. this amount i less than $5,000 a month. despite this, the administration insists on closing guantanamo and spending millions of taxpayer dollars without a defined plan. this is ludicrous. in february a department of defense report determined that

4:51:53 to 4:52:13( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: i'm sure i need not remind my colleagues, many of whom have visited guantanamo, as i have, that this facility has the capability to accommodate a trial, provide health care, and securely house some of the most dangerous terrorists ever captured on the face of this globe. sadly, the especially i taf of

4:52:36 to 4:52:58( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: but because of a slanders campaign by the media t paint guantanamo as a symbol of injustice. unfortunately, some of my colleagues have drunk the kool-aid and bought into this canard. let me remind my colleagues that common article 3 of the geneva convention requires that prisoners of war not be held in

4:53:20 to 4:53:40( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: department's needs. it is my fervent hope that the president and the attorney general will reconsider -- they'll consider a plan to close guantanamo and recognize the obvious: that ads 200 million facility that is already operational and in compliance with international treaties should not be shuttered and closed.