BY ROGER BROWN
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
As Republican U.S. Rep. Phil Roe walked the grounds of the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba on a recent visit, he said he was reminded of another time and place – some 36 years ago and 7,900 miles away.
“I thought about the conditions I had when I was serving on an Army base in Korea – around 1973,” Roe said. “And, frankly, the conditions at Guantanamo Bay were a whole lot better than what I had” in Korea.
“It’s much better, much more upscale, than what people would think from listening to the news media,” Roe said of the Guantanamo facility. “That’s why I felt it was important for me to go: To see for myself.”
During an interview with the Bristol Herald Courier, the Johnson City Republican said his Guantanamo Bay visit, as part of a seven-member congressional group, strengthened his belief that President Barack Obama should not rush to close the prison. Obama vowed to do so during his 2009 presidential campaign.
Since 2002, the facility has been holding various prisoners from Afghanistan and other battle spots. It currently has an estimated 240 prisoners.
“I would recommend that before the President closes Guantanamo, he come down and take a look at it himself,” Roe said. “It’s no different than an American prison.”
A freshman congressman and former longtime doctor, Roe said he saw nothing at Guantanamo to support claims that prisoners had been poorly treated – either physically or mentally.
“In fact, there’s just about one medical official for every detainee there,” Roe said.
He also reacted sharply when asked if his vocal opposition to relocating Guantanamo detainees in American prisons might help terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda, boast that they were stirring fear inside the United States.
“This congressman is not fearful at all of al-Qaeda. I can tell you that right now,” Roe said. “I will not be intimidated by a bunch of thugs. And neither will this country or my district. I’m simply saying I can’t see any reason why you have to close Guantanamo Bay, other than just” as a political move.
Roe’s fellow local congressman, U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, said he still believed the country should shut down Guantanamo.
“We should close the facility and we should place the prisoners in highly secured prisons (that want them),” Boucher said.
The congressman noted that a Colorado “supermax” prison had already expressed interest in taking some Guantanamo detainees.
“There are places that want them,” Boucher said. “And there would be no risk of escape.”
Boucher said the United States needs to close Guantanamo to remove a major issue that has led other countries to harshly criticize America – and to help this country win international support and cooperation in important areas.
rbrown@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512
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