Tom Cotton, Republican Arkansas Senator, Says Guantanamo Detainees Can ‘Rot In Hell’
Arkansas Republican senator Tom Cotton, speaking before a U.S. Senate committee meeting on the fate of Guantanamo Bay Thursday, raised eyebrows with his statement that detainees at the controversial facility can “rot in hell.”
“In my opinion, the only problem with Guantanamo Bay is, there are too many empty beds and cells there right now. We should be sending more terrorists there, for further interrogation, to keep this country safe. As far as I’m concerned, every last one of ’em can rot in hell! But as long as they don’t do that, they can rot in Guantanamo Bay.”
The Iraq War veteran’s remarks were delivered to the U.S. Senate’s Armed Services Committee, as the Obama Administration considers shutting down the controversial detention facility, according to the Huffington Post. The Administration would like to see Guantanamo Bay closed, and the remaining detainees there either face trial or be sent to other countries for repatriation (although apparently no one wants them).
Since it opened after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay has housed dozens of suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists or supporters. The facility has become a lightning rod for criticism: human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, have criticized the practice of indefinitely holding detainees in inhumane conditions, subject to torture, and without charges presented against them or access to legal counsel.
“The United States’ detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have become emblematic of the gross human rights abuses perpetrated by the U.S. Government in the name of fighting terrorism.”
Republicans such as Tom Cotton, meanwhile, insist that closing the Guantanamo facility would subject the U.S. to further acts of terrorism.
Do you share Tom Cotton’s opinion that if terrorists can’t rot in hell, Guantanamo Bay is the next best option? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
[Image courtesy of: The Atlantic]
