We’ve talked about this ad infinitum, and today’s story on the Jakarta terrorist attacks makes this relevant yet again.  Gitmo currently houses Hambali, the military commander of Jemaah Islamiyah, whom we captured in Thailand after he helped stage two attacks in Bali that killed more than 200 people.  Where would we put Hambali, who hasn’t yet been connected to an actual attack on the US (although the US alleges he was part of the Operation Bojinka plot)?  Either we would have to set him free, hand him over to Indonesia or the Philippines, or put him in an American civil prison without trial rather than hold him as an unlawful combatant at war.

Keeping Gitmo open makes the most sense, as Senator James Inhofe notes:

Today, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a Senior Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, posted on his website a petition opposing the transfers of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO) to the United States. The petition is also in support of Inhofe’s amendment, S.Amdt.1559, to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2010 (S.1390), which prohibits the transfer of detainees from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to any facility in the United States. In a YouTube video, Inhofe invited Americans to sign the petition and he promised to show the petition to his fellow Senators before they vote on this important legislation.

“By more than a 3 to 1 margin, Americans are opposed to detainees being transferred to their home states. And to date, the views of the American people have not changed,” Inhofe said. “Regardless, the administration is committed to fulfilling its political campaign promise to close GITMO, even though President Obama has yet to visit the facility for himself.

“Right now we have an opportunity to stop the President from bringing terrorists to American soil. My amendment will do just that, but I need you to weigh in. By signing this petition, you are telling the Senate and the President that it is unacceptable to house terrorists in your home states. I will make sure that my Senate Colleagues see these petitions and that they are aware of your opposition before they vote on this very important legislation.”

Go here to sign the petition. At least that will keep the US government from putting itself in the ridiculous position of bringing radical Islamist terrorists onto US soil for show trials that even the Obama administration admits have no chance whatsoever of freeing them.