Instead of moving Gitmo detainees to supermax prisons in the continental USA, Obama should build a new prison in Alaska, either in the Aleutian Islands, or on some other island even further north.
The benefits are as follows:
- It's even more isolated than Cuba.
- It's still within American jurisdiction.
- It will put Sarah Palin in the spotlight.
I'll start by explaining point #1. Let's forget for a moment that nobody has escaped a supermax prison. Fear is not a rational emotion. We won't eliminate fears by appealing to reason. Fear is the enemy - and if putting Gitmo detainees in the continental USA increase fears, that means it's bad for us.
We might as well point out that GITMO isn't a safe location at all - if someone escapes, they might find haven in Cuba, or they might hitch a ride with some Cubans escaping to Florida. And what if a hurricane tore down the fences and they escape? Also, it's warm. And sunny. I'd rather they be on some Alaskan Island, where escape would mean swimming hundreds of miles of ocean so cold you'd die in a minute, and then a thousand miles of trekking though tundra that's windy and freezing in the winter, or muddy and eat-you-alive with mosquitoes in the summer...
On to Number 2: I don't want Obama to break any campaign promises, I don't want him to give republicans a victory to celebrate, and I don't want him to look like a flip-flopper. We should just say "we don't agree with your fears, but we want to do all we can to make you feel secure. So, we won't put Gitmo detainees in the continental US - not because we've changed our minds, but because we care about bipartisanship."
And now for Number 3...If the thought of terrorists who have never even seen snow getting eaten by polar bears wasn't fun enough, think of how this will put Sarah Palin in the spotlight. Just picture the quotables she'll say while choosing if she'll go along with it. If she does, she's sacrificing her principals, and exposing the people she represents to danger, because she loves federal money so much. If she doesn't, she would rather have terrorists in the continental USA, or in Club Gitmo, where it's warm. And sunny. And they can escape to Cuba and then Miami.
And then we'll get to see her in photo ops with Obama, as Obama reaches out in a bipartisan gesture. How will that effect the Sarah in the primaries? Will she refuse out of bitterness toward Obama? Will she accept because she can't get enough of the spotlight? The media will love it.
How to really help America's image.
I agree with Obama's desire to improve America's standing in the world, but there are lots of ways to do that without sacrificing political capital. The last thing I want to see is Obama spend his political capital like Clinton did, on a divisive, emotion-rousing issue that only effects a handful of people (no offense to gays who want to join the military.) In short, I don't want to see Obama's agenda bogged down over something symbolic - dare I say, something superficial.
After all, in Gitmo they may have been waterboarded, but in US prisons they'll be raped. How is that a propaganda victory? America - we don't torture. Just rape.
Remember, people didn't start hating America when Gitmo opened.
People started hating America when America started overthrowing democratic governments, propping up dictators, rigging international trade laws in our favor, and consuming the world's resources while giving hardly anything back.
To really get support from the world, there are a lot of very cost-effective forms of foreign aid. Let's say Obama starts by imposing a tax on international currency speculation. How much political capital will he lose by taxing currency speculators?
Next, use the money to support some very cost-effective causes, like spreading micro nutrients to fight malnutrition, giving away mosquito nets to fight malaria, fighting HIV, and so on. Call it an economic stimulus package - the mosquito nets can be made in the USA, and by helping people out of poverty, we'll be creating a market for US goods.