I just saw this story on MSNBC and found this article about it on-line. Hardin, a town in Montana and in one of the poorest counties in the country, built a 460 bed prison for $27 million with the hope of providing the surrounding town with 100 high paying jobs. While every other American does not want Gitmo detainees transferred to their towns, this town is eager to offer their prison. The Hardin City Council voted Tuesday to allow Two Rivers Authority, the city's economic development arm, to obtain the contract to house the Gitmo detainees:
The council resolution states that the city "fully supports the efforts of the Two Rivers Authority to contact State and Federal officials for the purpose of inquiring into the possibility of housing Guantanamo detainees at the Two Rivers Authority in Hardin, Montana, and to determine whether the Two Rivers Detention Center could provide a safe and secure environment for housing said detainees."
The facility in Alexandria, Va. has been eyed for the detainees, but Two Rivers executive director Greg Smith argues that it's safer to have the prisoners in this isolated location so as to avoid the dangerous logistics that would come with trying the detainees in a more urban area:
If someone were to escape, Smith said, there aren't any huge buildings nearby to dodge into. Montana is pretty homogeneous, so detainees, many of Middle Eastern descent, would not easily blend into crowds, he said.
Hardin representatives further argue that they feel it is their patriotic duty to help the President by providing their facility:
Offering a turnkey facility is practically a patriotic duty, Smith said.
"We're offering our president an option," he said. "If he wants it, we have it available. We want to step forward and say, 'Mr. President, we have a solution. How can we make it happen?' "
Unfortunately, Senator Max Baucus was on MSNBC arguing that he didn't support Hardin's desire to house the detainees. Interesting. This plan would actually give an economic boost to the area, but the Senator is still playing NIMBY.