From Guantanamo Bay to Standish Max

And So it Goes in Shreveport ^ | 10/21/09 | Pat Austin

[paustin110]

...Earlier this summer it was announced that Standish Max would close as part of a reorganization by the Michigan Department of Corrections. This would result in a loss of jobs for about 350 people. But questions are being asked as to whether bringing Gitmo detainees there is the best way to offset this economic quagmire. Many of the locals have safety concerns...Gordon Cuclullu and his terrorism expert looked at the security issues and found some points of concern:

Under normal circumstances this would be a proper maximum security facility. Designed effectively to keep prisoners in, not focused on potential outside threats.

The reasonable assessment is that Standish Max is highly vulnerable to attacks from outside. Even a small suicide bomber igniting the propane tank would be a disaster. A truck filled with ammonium nitrate explosive, al Qaeda’s weapon of choice, would yield catastrophic results.

Politico posted an article that suggests Standish residents are supportive of the Gitmo transfer, but in fact the resolution that the city council voted on was simply to offer Standish for the "detainment of current Federal prisoners held in Federal facilities" without specifying those future prisoners as Gitmo prisoners. There is no agreement that they necessarily want those prisoners to be from Gitmo.