Online Petition to Oppose Transfer of Detainees to Leavenworth

[Cindy McGuire]

While I am a great supporter of President Obama and his plans to bring justice to the detainees at Guantanamo, I do think his lack of planning on this issue could become a problem for the citizens of Leavenworth and the Kansas City area as a whole. Please show your support for keeping our community safe by participating in Senator Pat Roberts online petition. You do not need to be a Kansas resident to participate. For more information and the link to the petition, please read the attached press release issued by his office.

CONTACT: Sarah Ross Little or Molly Haase [phone]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 5, 2009

Senator Roberts Launches Online Petition;
Opposes Closing Gitmo and Transfer of Detainees
to Leavenworth

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today launched an
online petition to convey to the Administration the widespread
opposition of Kansans to the closing of the detention center at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the transfer of terrorists to American
communities like Leavenworth, Kansas.

"Last week, I held a town hall meeting in Leavenworth
attended by more than 250 Kansans outraged with the President's decision
to close Guantanamo and consider placing terrorists at Ft. Leavenworth,
putting their community at risk," Roberts said. "The opposition was loud
and clear from local leaders, members of the prison workers' union and
residents of Leavenworth and surrounding towns. President Obama and the
Gitmo Task Force need to be aware of the implications of any decision to
transfer terrorists to the heart of a community in Kansas."

Senator Roberts recently toured the U.S. Disciplinary
Barracks at Ft. Leavenworth to see firsthand the problems with
transferring terrorists to Kansas.

"While the U.S. military is more than capable of securing
these terrorists within a facility," Roberts said, "there are real,
significant external threats to those that live and work in and around
such a facility. The USDB is located a mere 100 yards from private
homes. A heavily trafficked railway and river runs along the perimeter
of the Fort. This makes the USDB vulnerable.

To achieve the security necessary to protect the prisoners
and those that guard them, the military would need to build a fortress.
In Leavenworth, 2,000 acres of private land would have to be seized
through eminent domain to make sure that protestors, media, curious or
angry citizens and terrorists could do no harm. The state would also
have to commit millions of dollars to security forces, since Posse
Comitatus laws prevent the military from conducting any law enforcement
activities outside of the Fort's property lines.

"The horrors we saw on September 11th, and the insurgencies
we've faced since, show how committed extremists at Guantanamo, and
those they associate with, are to destroying democracy and the freedoms
we hold dear," Roberts said. "As our enemies work to acquire greater
means for inflicting even higher numbers of casualties on Americans, and
in an era when extremists routinely seize schools, destroy hospitals,
and use civilians as cover, it is simply not acceptable to invite such
activity into our communities. This is especially true when we have a
perfectly safe alternative already in place at Guantanamo Bay."

Kansans can join U.S. Senator Pat Roberts in opposing the
closing of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the transfer
of terrorists to American communities such as Leavenworth, Kansas, due
to the unnecessary risks it presents to all Americans, by visiting the
Senator's homepage and clicking on the "Gitmo" button on the lower left
side at the following web address:

http://roberts.senate.gov/

Senator Roberts, a former Marine, was Chairman of the Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence from 2003-2006. He visited the
detention center at Guantanamo Bay in 2005.


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Sarah Little
Communications Director
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS)
109 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
[phone]
[phone] cell
[e-mail]