Rahm Emanuel, Lindsey Graham Form Unlikely Alliance on Guantanamo Bay

March 02, 2010  |  Posted by Danielle Belton

Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is in talks with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel about closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay. While both Graham and the White House agree the prison should be closed, they differ on what to do with the detainees. Graham is for military commissions, while the White House is fighting to try some detainees in U.S. court. Military Commissions don't work. They've been frought with problems from the very beginning regarding their legality. Criminal courts, on the other hand, have prosecuted hundreds of terrorism suspects since 2001.

From Newser:

Rahm Emanuel and Lindsey Graham have become unlikely friends, and the most visible fruit of that friendship may be a new agreement on Guantanamo Bay. Emanuel hasn’t officially endorsed Graham’s plan—which would close the prison, but put the kibosh on civilian 9/11 trials, and allow the indefinite detention of terror suspects—but the two speak about it frequently. Emanuel recently commented, “You can’t close Guantanamo without Sen. Graham.”

Graham’s Guantanamo plan, for example, has elements the White House dislikes, but Emanuel “understands what I’m trying to do,” Graham says. “He understands you can only go so far by yourself.”

We don't know where this partnership will lead. We hope it leads to the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, but detainees need to be tried in U.S. courts where we already have a good history of trying terrorists. Read more about Graham and Emanuel here at Politico.

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