Barack Obama pledged to close Guantamano Bay by 2010. That deadline is coming close, and yesterday, news outlets reported that a fact-finding trip was taken to the maximum security prison in Standish, Michigan to see if that facility would be appropriate to house the detainees.
Would it make the area a target for jihadists, as one local man warned? Or would it ensure against yet another wave of job losses in a state where the unemployment rate is already 17 percent?
Put aside the justice issues of detaining people without a trial for years on end, though surely it would be easier for humanitarian groups to push for trials when the prisoners are in the US. Should any community fear having those kinds of prisoners take up residence? Is that fear valid or alarmist?
John H Fischer
12:35 pm on August 14th
Fear is valid… fear is healthy… fear is needed… fear is useful…
fear is a tool; however, not an end
to allow yourself to be consumed by fear, or base your decisions on your fear alone… that is when fear consumes.
allowing fear to consume is not valid… is not healthy.. is not needed, is not useful.
Dino Corvino
4:16 pm on August 14th
I am not sure. At some point all communities can have objections against prisons being built, and by their nature bringing by the nature of prison, bad people to the geographic region.
Supermax in Colorado.
Levenworth in Kansas.
I believe Illinois has a Supermax as well.
America, society probably, has created a need for prisons. We must put them someplace.
To answer your question, I think it is alarmist.
charleshughes
6:52 pm on August 14th
There’s also a Supermax in Wisconsin.
Dino Corvino
7:56 pm on August 14th
Really? Where? I honestly had no idea.
charleshughes
8:02 pm on August 14th
Boscobel…you’re definitely not alone, Dino. There are a lot of people who aren’t aware of it.
charleshughes
8:36 pm on August 14th
It actually appears that the facility was recently downgraded to Maximum Security. But it was a Supermax for several years – and a quite controversial one at that.
Dino Corvino
9:48 pm on August 14th
Yes, yes. That is right. I remember now. I drove past twice and my partner pointed it out.
I believe that it is alarmist to react to the Supermax issue. Prisons exist.
Mohawk Matt
5:06 am on August 15th
Dino…check out the band the Yuckies. They have a song called Boscobel, and the band happens to be playing at the Cruise In on Saturday. Oh yeah, it’s an all chick band with my cousin’s wife playing bass and singing that song. (shameless plug)
Edbdqt
9:17 am on August 15th
Was Guantanamo Bay a target for jihadists? It could be that any plans to attack that area would be “classified” as a matter of national security, but I don’t remember hearing of any attacks.
I suppose it might be that it’s hard for a Jihadist to get into Cuba or there just aren’t that many Jihadists in Cuba period. In which case we have to think a little bit as the largest concentrations of Muslims in the US is in Dearborn, only 2 hours and 16 minutes from Standish.
If I were a rural white guy in Standish (pop. 1581), I’d probably be concerned about my way of life both from the addition of a prison filled with terrorists and the possibility that a bunch of radical Muslims from downstate might be moving in to be near the inmates. To be clear, I think that’s way wrong, but to think no one in a small Midwest town is racist or thinking these things would be burying our head in the sand.
thedbc
10:53 am on August 17th
I personally wouldn’t be worried too much about a terrorist being held captive in a town near me. I don’t work in or near a prison and I don’t have anyone close that does either.
But I can see it from other perspectives if I try. In Gitmo, the attackers could not sneak up. It’s a fully operational military facility with guards allowed to shoot to kill 24-7, an ocean on one side and Cuba on the other. It is far from a normal jail with a few guards in towers and normal civilian vehicles coming and going nearby regularly.
In a small town on the mainland, the average radical getting close enough to set off a bomb in retaliation is a reality that could easily come true. Also, the guards at the prisons could become targets as their familes live in the area. The radicals know the guards work in the prison, they know they live in the same town, they are easy to get to. In Gitmo, the soldiers working there are mostly unknown to the world, no way to go after a guy’s family that way.
It’s all a “could” and “if” situation, but it is a reality that must be looked into to ensure the average citizens safety. There is nothing wrong with being aprehensive and prepared as long as you don’t let the fear run you. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
Mohawk Matt
12:01 am on August 18th
It’s not like there aren’t fences, towers, guards or walls in a supermax. Let’s remember that it’s not the constable’s jail in the old west we’re talking about. I would not be afraid to live near a structure such as this.
uhowopaluju
5:09 am on August 21st
uhowopaluju…
Ashley Banfield Photo Court Tv …