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Although President Obama’s intelligence chief stated last week that some terrorist inmates held at Guantanamo Bay may be released in the United States, only 13 per cent of American voters think that should be allowed.

The poll:

Seventy-five percent (75%) say Guantanamo inmates should not be released in this country, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure.

For 75% of voters, safety is more important than fairness in determining where terrorist suspects are released. Only 17% say fairness is more important.

National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair also said some of these inmates may receive financial assistance from the government to ease their transition into society. Seventy-four percent (74%) oppose giving taxpayer money to former Guantanamo prisoners to help them return to society.

Sixteen percent (16%) think taxpayers should provide money to the inmates.

Just 36% now agree with the president’s decision to close the prison camp for suspected terrorists at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba. Forty-six percent (46%) oppose closing the prison camp, and 18% are undecided.

This marks an eight-point drop in support for Obama’s decision since he announced it in late January when voters were almost evenly divided on the issue. Last November, only 32% thought the prison should be closed.

And, then the question is: Exactly where do you release them?

Can you imagine the local community uproar?

President Barack Obama’s decision to close GITMO has met with mixed reviews by American voters.

U.S. voters are closely divided over whether the government should close the terrorist prison camp at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba.

Forty-four percent (44%) agree with President Obama’s decision to close the camp within the next year, while 42% disagree in a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure which is the best course to follow.

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of voters, however, still say safety is more important to them than fairness in determining where the terrorist suspects should be imprisoned. Just 19% put more emphasis on fairness, while 13% are not sure which is more important. These numbers are virtually unchanged from the findings in November.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) say the suspected terrorists at Guantanamo should not be given all the rights of U.S. citizens. Only 16% disagree, and 15% are not sure.

Just 26% say the suspected terrorists should be tried in U.S. courts. Fifty-nine percent (59%) support the Bush Administration position that they should be tried by military tribunals. Sixteen percent (16%) are undecided.

Again, the responses to both these questions are almost identical to those in a survey last July.

Looks like Karl Rove’s comments the other day are not too far off the mark.

The “campaign architect,” as he is commonly called, built a case against President Barack Obama’s order to close Guantanamo, an overseas CIA detention center where terrorists and other “enemy combatants” are held. Obama’s order could enable terrorists to be tried in U.S. courts, to be given undeserved rights afforded American citizens and could cause damaging long-term effects, Rove said.

“One year from now, Gitmo won’t be closed,” Rove said. “If it is, there will be an uproar in the U.S. about where to put these people.”

In one of President Barack Obama’s first acts as President, it looks like a change of Bush Administration policy that does NOT enjoy the overwhelming support of the American people. Well, Obama has left himself a year to decide how to close GITMO.

The closing of Guantanamo Bay = symbolism over substance.

Prior to Barack Obama’s inauguration a big deal regarding Guantanamo Bay was made regarding a reversal of Bush policy on the terrorist detainees and the location of their incarceration. An executive order was to be made immediatley following Obama becoming President.

Here it is.

In one of his first acts in office President Obama has ordered the U.S. government to suspend prosecutions of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay for 120 days, military officials said Tuesday.

Papers filed at the U.S. prison camp said the request is made “in the interest of justice and at the direction of the president of the United States.” It seeks a delay in proceedings until May 20.

“The judges will receive the requests and review them, and we anticipate a ruling soon,” said Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Defense Department spokesman.

Tuesday’s directive was issued verbally through Defense Secretary Bob Gates, according to a military official.

This is a big deal?

A Reagan – Iranian hostage release inauguration moment?

No, it is more symbolism over substance or Plus Ca Change from Obama.

Ed Morrissey explains why the Obama decision is nothing but delay.

In this case, justice delayed is not much of a change at all.  Did Obama not have an idea of how to proceed when he took office?  A four-month delay only means that the detainees will have to wait that much longer to see any adjudication of their status.  Why not allow the tribunals to proceed, at least to get a finding of fact from them?  If Obama wants to invalidate the process later, he can also invalidate their findings.  It’s difficult to see what Obama expects to get from a further delay, especially since one of the main complaints about Gitmo has been the length of time the men have been held without adjudication.

The delay would only be meaningful if Obama intended to free all of the Gitmo prisoners, something that the ACLU has urged.  Somehow, I don’t think Barack Obama would be that foolish.  It would be tough to win re-election as the man who set Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other 9/11 actors free simply to win favor from Europe’s elite.

In the end, Obama’s policy may not be that different from the Bush Administration. Campaign rhetoric is one thing; actual governance is another.

Here is another example of Barack Obama’s policy positions having an expiration date. Now, this is real change.

Say it ain’t so that President Obama will close Gitmo and move most of its residents to a new constructed prison located at California’s Camp Pendelton Marine Base.

The U.S. military has prepared a list of U.S. military bases that could be used to house as many as 250 detainees currently being held at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, military officials tell ABCNews.com.

The list — which includes Camp Pendleton in California, Fort Leavenworth in Kansas; the Marine Air Station in Miramar, California; and the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig in South Carolina — has been circulated in a classified brief to members of Congress and was prepared by the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.

President-elect Barack Obama is expected to order that the Guantanamo Bay detainee facility be closed on his first day in office, officials say. Officials say it would take at least a year to prepare a new prison and transfer the detainees.

The preliminary list was based on cost, logistic, and security concerns, but the Department of Defense is expected to present a more comprehensive recommendation based on a variety of factors, according a military official.

Camp Pendleton was determined to be the least expensive option and officials say its vast 125,000 acre size would allow for a new prison to be built in an isolated and secure area. 

Camp Pendleton has a daytime population of 60,000, according to its website, including military personnel, their families and civilian employees.

Three San Diego county Congressmen have already voiced opposition to sending the terror detainees to Camp Pendleton.

Ed Morrissey knowing the geography of Camp Pendelton ridicules the notion of moving GITMO there as a San Onofre based terrorist prison becomes a prime terrorist target. You know the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant that is nearby, the Interstate Freeway that runs down to Mexico and the upscale neighborhoods in Oceanside and North San Diego county which would be vulnerable to terrorist hostage and attack – so they can free their detained buddies.

The President-Elect will likely issue an Executive Order on his first day in office closing GITMO. And, it may be up to a year before the Cuban prison is actually closed.

Camp Pendleton would be an unwise choice.

The letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates opposing Camp Pendelton as a terrorist prison from Represenatives Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Brian Bilbray (R-CA) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) is here.