Order Of Procedure

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, in response to my friend, the Senator from Georgia, he has obviously forgotten the name Zacarias Moussaoui. He was accused of being the 19th or 20th hijacker on 9/11. He was successfully prosecuted in the courts of the United States. He has been convicted, is serving time in a prison of the United States, and we are not less safe because of it. Our system of justice worked.

The Senator from Georgia and many on his side of the aisle have no confidence in our system of justice. They do not want to even consider the possibility that people could be charged with a crime and successfully prosecuted here. We have proven otherwise.

There are 347 convicted terrorists now serving time in U.S. prisons. I have not heard a hue and cry from anyone saying let's get them all out of the country, because we know they are being safely and securely held.

America is not at risk. For the Senator to argue that once they are tried they have to be released as American citizens or in the general population defies logic. If these people are brought in for the purpose of trial and found not guilty, they are certainly not going to be allowed to stay in the United States. There is no requirement for that. There is no way they could ask for citizenship, having just been found not guilty, being a resident of another country. That is not even in the realm of possibility.

What the Senator is arguing is about a possibility that I think is farfetched, and he ignores the obvious. Madam President, 347 terrorists convicted in American courts are currently serving time in American prisons right now.

I might also add that at the end of the day, it will be the President of the United States who will propose what we do, and the President will make his recommendations soon. I am anxious to hear them. But for us to foreclose the possibility of bringing a detainee to justice for crimes committed, for acts of terrorism, by saying we would not consider ever trying them in the United States, what would we do with them? Hold them indefinitely without charges? Export them to some other country?

If they can be charged and prosecuted successfully in our courts, they should be. They should be held securely until they are resolved in court, and if they are resolved in a guilty fashion, they could be incarcerated as the other 347 terrorists in our prisons. If found not guilty, they can leave the country, as they should not be welcomed as citizens.

The President will be making an announcement today. I am anxious to hear it. For us to anticipate what that is and foreclose possibilities I don't think is a wise policy for keeping this country safe.

The bottom line is this President--no President--is going to release terrorists into Georgia, Mississippi, Illinois, or New York. It is not going to happen. Presidents accept their responsibility to keep our country safe, and to suggest otherwise I don't think is consistent with our experience.

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I am not suggesting that the detainees at Guantanamo all be tried. I know of one, for example, who has been held for 7 years and was notified a year ago there are no charges against him. The question is where he will be sent. He still languishes in prison because of that. It would be unjust for us to continue to keep him in Guantanamo without any charges against him beyond 7 years. I don't think he needs to be tried. We need to find a safe place to put him once we are certain he is not going to engage in acts of terrorism.

This morning, President Obama is going to make a statement on this issue. The statement by the White House in advance of his speech at the National Archives--I think part of this press announcement bears repeating into the Record. It says:

The President also ordered a review of all pending cases at Guantanamo. In dealing with the situation, we do not have the luxury of starting from scratch. We are cleaning up something that is--quite frankly--a mess that has left in its wake a flood of legal challenges that we are forced to deal with on a constant basis and that consumes the time of government officials whose time would be better spent protecting the country. To take care of the remaining cases at Guantanamo Bay, the President will, when feasible, try those who have violated American criminal laws in Federal courts; when necessary, try those who violate the rules of war through military commissions; when possible, transfer to third countries those detainees who can be safely transferred.

President Obama is calling for an orderly, sensible review of cases at Guantanamo. For us to continue to keep voting on ways to foreclose the possibilities of bringing Guantanamo to a close in a responsible fashion I don't think is responsible conduct. I hope we will stop this and allow the President to show his leadership. He inherited this mess at Guantanamo. He is doing his best to find solutions in keeping with our values and keeping in mind his primary responsibility to keep us safe.

I yield the floor.

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