American group criticises Obama's decision to close Gitmo

New York, Jan 22, 2009: Move America Forward (MAF), a pro-troop organisation, has criticised President Barack Hussein Obama's decision to close detention camps in Guantanamo Bay, describing it as a "dangerous and irresponsible" step.The comment came as the Obama administration decided to close the camps within a year.

Stating that closing of prison would be a "disaster" for America and could "endanger our country," MAF Chairman Melanie Morgan said that Obama swore to protect the Constitution, which means his top responsibility is to protect the American people.

"It is shocking that one of his first actions would be to close a prison that keeps Americans safe from admitted terrorists," he said, adding closing Guantanamo Bay would be a "complete disaster" for US security.

The prison keeps admitted terrorists and would-be mass murderers behind bars and closing the prison, which is a humane facility built specifically to house terrorist combatants, tells the world that Obama does not have faith that our troops in Guantanamo Bay served with honour," he said.

"Not one American serviceman or woman has been charged with crimes in Guantanamo Bay, and we know that the military does police its own. We saw that in the Abu Ghraib scandal," Morgan said.

"Obama is sending the wrong message to our loyal troops by moving to close Gitmo. Instead, he needs to stand up to the America-haters and his friends on the left and make the tough decision -- Keep Gitmo open," he added.

A group of representatives from MAF just returned from a visit to Guantanamo Bay. The MAF delegation found absolutely no evidence to corroborate claims by some that detainees at Gitmo are ever abused or mistreated, he added.