I think the Gitmo debate is one borne of politics and appearances than of integrity and actual need. Consider the matter of the 20 or so Uighurs held there.
As Obama began trying to empty the prison, it became clear that few people with political power were invested in seeing the detainees moved. The first major effort involved seventeen Uighurs—Chinese Muslims, most of whom had travelled to Afghanistan in the nineties, fleeing persecution by the Communist government. After the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, the Uighurs were turned over to the military, in exchange for a bounty of five thousand dollars each.
When the Bush Administration took up their case, Bellinger, the legal adviser, thought that the Uighurs’ situation was a “tragedy.” But they could not be repatriated to China, where they would likely be tortured or executed. And, when he tried to persuade other countries to accept them, foreign officials wanted to know why they should take people whom the U.S. didn’t want—particularly when China was threatening economic retribution. Bellinger argued that some of the Uighurs should be resettled in the U.S. But, he said, “arrayed against us were Defense, Justice, the C.I.A., Homeland Security, and the Vice-President’s Office.”
The case made its way to U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. As hearings began, the judge, Ricardo Urbina, wondered if he was “misunderstanding the situation,” as he recalled in an oral history sponsored by Columbia University. “When I reviewed the submissions, there was nothing that suggested anything dangerous about these people.” In October, 2008, Urbina ruled the detention unconstitutional and ordered the Uighurs released into the United States. Bellinger recalled, “That decision was such a shock to Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security. They filed an emergency appeal to reverse, saying, ‘These are dangerous people!’ ” The appeal succeeded, and the Uighurs remained in prison when Obama took office.
In April, 2009, Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff, hosted a principals-committee meeting, assembling Cabinet secretaries and agency directors involved in national security. At this meeting, the group concluded that at least two of the Uighurs should be brought to northern Virginia, which had one of the country’s largest Uighur communities.
Frank Wolf, a Republican congressman from the area, was a fervent supporter of the Uighurs and a critic of China. But, as the White House worked on a plan, it failed to involve him; the information was leaked to him, one Friday afternoon, by a contact in the Administration. Wolf angrily refused to accept the detainees, describing them in a letter to Obama as “terrorists” who “would be released into neighborhoods.” Other Republicans joined him; even Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, said, “We don’t want them.” Emanuel abandoned the idea of a transfer, and Obama did not force the issue.
Source
Just look at that. It's absolutely disgraceful that Wolf denied his support for the Uighurs because, apparently his feelings were hurt over not having been made party to their transfer to VA, yet Wolf supported their being released into the U.S.
