Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Massachusetts town welcomes detainees but Barack Obama misses deadline to close Guantánamo
Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | January 22, 2010 | Alex Spillius

Posted on 01/22/2010 5:36:13 AM PST by Schnucki

President Barack Obama misses his own deadline for closing Guantánamo on Friday, amid difficulties in relocating inmates overseas and delays in putting dozens on trial.

But a university town in Massachusetts is doing its utmost to encourage his effort, having become the first in the country to pass a resolution welcoming detainees from the prison on the US naval base on Cuba.

Amherst remains a liberal hot spot in a state that until the shock election of Republican Scott Brown to succeed Edward Kennedy in the Senate was regarded as reliably Democratic.

Unlike Thomson, Illinois, where residents expect a jobs boom from seeing an unused, expensive prison receive detainees judged too dangerous to free, Amherst wants to welcome any former terror suspects who have been cleared for release into its general population of 34,874.

It has set its sights on two men in particular who are languishing in Guantánamo unable prevented from returning to their home countries by the likelihood of maltreatment.

Ravil Mingazov, a former ballet dancer in the Russian army, said he was persecuted by the authorities because of his conversion to Islam. He travelled to Afghanistan in 2001 before his arrest in Pakistan in early 2002.

Also handed over to the Americans in Pakistan was Ahmed Belbacha, a 40-year-old Algerian accountant. Though deemed not to be a threat by the Pentagon in 2005, he asked to stay in Guantánamo because he so feared torture by his country's security services. His lawyer has said he "would love to move to Amherst".

For that to happen, Congress would need to reconsider legislation preventing detainees with cleared status settling in the US, a decision that has contributed to Mr Obama missing his deadline. But with dozens of detainees probably moving into detention in Illinois, that could be changed.

Mingazov and

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: amherst; guantanamo; massachusetts; obama
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last

1 posted on 01/22/2010 5:36:14 AM PST by Schnucki
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Schnucki

Amherst deserves them....


2 posted on 01/22/2010 5:39:27 AM PST by freebilly (No wonder the left has a boner for Obama. There's CIALIS in soCIALISt....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Schnucki

Progressives are just plain sick!


3 posted on 01/22/2010 5:40:31 AM PST by razzle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Schnucki
These detainees are safe for relocation to the USA because they say they are safe??? Amherst. Are there any people smarter than the Elite Intelligentsia?
4 posted on 01/22/2010 5:44:40 AM PST by originalbuckeye
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Schnucki

I sure hope they get free tuition at the University of Massachusetts right there in Amherst. Better yet, they could probably get some “stimulus” money to hire these stooges to teach jihad. ;-)


5 posted on 01/22/2010 5:48:19 AM PST by rhombus (i)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rhombus

Yeah that was my thought. Relocate them to Amherst and then let the attend UMASS. Of course, once they go Jihadi on the student body, look for the Libtards to go running for cover.


6 posted on 01/22/2010 5:49:58 AM PST by rbg81 (DRAIN THE SWAMP!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Schnucki

Happy Valley


7 posted on 01/22/2010 5:50:24 AM PST by metesky (My retirement fund is holding steady @ $.05 a can.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rbg81
Of course, once they go Jihadi on the student body, look for the Libtards to go running for cover.

Well clearly that would just be another demonstration of the mess created by Boooooooosh!!! ;-)

8 posted on 01/22/2010 5:51:20 AM PST by rhombus (i)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Schnucki
Ravil Mingazov, a former ballet dancer in the Russian army,

"What's your MOS?"

"39 ZULU, ballet dancer, but I put in for cross training in ballroom, 39 BRAVO."

9 posted on 01/22/2010 5:54:11 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: metesky

Happy Valley

The Gitmo Jihadist will be also welcome in NoHo also. Rachel Maddow will roll out the rainbow carpet to her and her friends to the personal beheadings of themselves.

10 posted on 01/22/2010 5:57:58 AM PST by dancusa (Political Correctness is a firewall to the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Schnucki

It’s a story that is hard to believe,coming even from liberals. A town in the United States that welcomes the terrorist trash that is imprisoned at Guantonamo.

What sort of insanity are they smoking up there.


11 posted on 01/22/2010 6:01:00 AM PST by Venturer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Schnucki

Amherst is the town where on or about 9/10/2001 a woman objected at the town meeting to flying the flag on the town common, saying it was a symbol of oppression. They are still vile, immature, ungrateful moonbats out in happy valley.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view/20091022jihad_enough_not_in_amherst/

One of the salutary side effects of the Brownian moment was that a pair of moonbat aldermen in Newton (just west of Boston) withdrew a similar motion.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x1689214151/Newton-aldermen-kill-proposal-to-welcome-Guantanamo-detainee


12 posted on 01/22/2010 6:01:45 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lonesome in Massachussets
At that town Meeting in Amherst on 9/10/2001 a Freeper showed up and made speech

Former U.S. Marine "Racebannon"(replaced his name with FReeperhandle) , who said he drove two hours from Bristol, Connecticut to attend the meeting, questioned why elected officials would allow the flag of the United Nations to fly outside the Amherst town hall year-round. "Why are you flying the U.N. flag at the seat of your government? This is an American city," said Racebannon

13 posted on 01/22/2010 6:55:31 AM PST by dancusa (Political Correctness is a firewall to the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: dancusa

Ping. I think you have this speech on audio tape.


14 posted on 01/22/2010 6:57:15 AM PST by dancusa (Political Correctness is a firewall to the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: RaceBannon

Ping. I think you posted your speech in Amhearst on 9/10/2001 in the past.


15 posted on 01/22/2010 7:01:29 AM PST by dancusa (Political Correctness is a firewall to the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: dancusa

Too bad they didn’t get there last week. They could have made the difference for Croakley!!!


16 posted on 01/22/2010 7:06:41 AM PST by catman67
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: catman67

Amherst went 84-15 Croakley.


17 posted on 01/22/2010 7:17:56 AM PST by dancusa (Political Correctness is a firewall to the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Amherst resident Emily Lewis said she was uncomfortable seeing the streets lined with flags. "It's a militaristic symbol," she stated while Jennie Traschen, a University of Massachusetts physics professor, said, "The flag is a symbol of tyranny and fear and destruction and terrorism."

18 posted on 01/22/2010 7:26:11 AM PST by dancusa (Political Correctness is a firewall to the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: dancusa

With all do respect. Who is gaurding her vagina?


19 posted on 01/22/2010 7:28:27 AM PST by dancusa (Political Correctness is a firewall to the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Schnucki

Maybe if the libs were tough on criminals and believed in the death penalty people would not have such a problem with terrorist being treated like criminals


20 posted on 01/22/2010 7:45:24 AM PST by edzo4 (NoBama 2012)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson