Rep. John R. Carter (R-TX-31) released the following statement in regards to the President’s plan to shut down Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (GTMO):

“The President has spent more than seven years campaigning to close GTMO over false assumptions that the detention facility serves as a recruitment tool for Islamic terrorists.  The nine-page plan he has just submitted to Congress reads more like a menu, is devoid of specifics, jeopardizes our national security and is dead on arrival.  It is troubling that this President consistently underestimates the threat posed by radical Islamic terrorism, and that he feels bringing battle-hardened war criminals onto the shores of the United States will somehow stem the growing tide of Islamic Jihad he refuses to confront on a strategic level.  Without a serious plan, I will continue to fight to ensure GTMO stays open so that these murderous thugs do not end up on American shores or return to the battlefield to fight our soldiers.”

Rep. Carter represents Texas District 31, which includes Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the free world. He serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, is on the Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice and Science and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. 

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