What's the proper movie reference here? Is it Groundhog Day? Or is it the scene from Speed, where they use the video loop playback to fool the terrorist and allow everyone to escape the bus?
I guess since nobody's escaping, it must be Groundhog Day. Oh, and I need to get out to the movies more often.
Ready? Here we go.
White House near decision to close Gitmo
By MATTHEW LEE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is nearing a decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detainee facility and move its terror suspects to military prisons elsewhere, The Associated Press has learned.
Yay!
White House Denies Talk of Closing Guantanamo
NPR.org, June 22, 2007 · The Bush administration was insisting Friday that there was no imminent decision on closing the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainee center despite reports that a plan was being reviewed to shutter the facility used to hold alleged terrorists.
Boo!
Too bad. So close. But I really feel like I ought to be more disappointed about this turn of events. I wonder why I'm not.
Could this be the fact that the Washington Post's editorial geniuses were under the impression that we discussing closing Guantanamo in June of 2005?
[T]he Bush administration is already engaged in a concerted effort to close the prison or at least reduce its population to a minimum.
Yay!
Or not:
Cheney: U.S. Not Aiming To Close Guantanamo
Other Republicans Say Prison Is a Liability
By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 13, 2005; Page A02
Vice President Cheney said yesterday that the administration has no plans to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as some prominent Democrats have recommended, but other Republicans said that reports of mistreatment of prisoners there have made the prison a growing global liability.
Boo!
(By the way, note that the WaPo reports on June 13th that the administration has no plans to close Guantanamo, then editorializes on the 21st that there's a "concerted effort" to do just that.)
Maybe the fact that we were discussing closing Guantanamo in June of 2006?
Q Thank you, Mr. President. You expressed serious concern when you learned about the Guantanamo suicides, and you and your aides immediately called allies. I'm wondering, how concerned are you about the U.S. image abroad, based on this incident and the ongoing investigation in Haditha and Abu Ghraib and other incidents? And, also, why shouldn't Guantanamo be closed now?
THE PRESIDENT: I'd like to close Guantanamo, but I also recognize that we're holding some people that are darn dangerous, and that we better have a plan to deal with them in our courts. And the best way to handle -- in my judgment, handle these types of people is through our military courts. And that's why we're waiting on the Supreme Court to make a decision.
Yay!
Then again...
MR. SNOW: [T]he President never said he wanted to -- he said he wants to close Guantanamo. He didn't say he wanted to close it quickly...
Boo!
So here we are. It's June again. And June is the time we talk about, then deny talking about, closing Guantanamo. Just like it's the time when we talk about things getting better by September. Get it now?