The GITMO Soap...

WSJ - Democrats Plan to Block Gitmo Closing
Guantanamo's closure has joined other national-security issues that pose difficulties for Democrats. During the campaign, Mr. Obama was sharply critical of former President George W. Bush's war and antiterrorism policies, and Mr. Obama's pledge to close Guantanamo was a major way he differentiated himself from his predecessor.
Now that he is in charge, Mr. Obama has struggled to reconcile campaign pledges with the complexities of making national-security policy. He has taken various positions that have angered political allies, including reviving Mr. Bush's military commissions and opposing a "truth commission" to investigate alleged Bush-era abuses. (see full article here...)

USA TODAY - Senators reject closing Gitmo without plan - WASHINGTON (AP) —
President Obama's promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison suffered a blow Tuesday when his allies in the Senate said they would refuse to finance the move until the administration delivers a satisfactory plan for what to do with the detainees there.
As the Senate took up Obama's request for money for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Democrats reversed course and said they would deny the request for $80 million for the Justice and Defense departments to relocate the 240 detainees at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They also said they would bar the transfer of any of the facility's prisoners until the plan is delivered.
While allies such as No. 2 Senate Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois cast the development as a delay of only a few months, other Democrats have made it plain they don't want any of Guantanamo's detainees sent to the United States to stand trial or serve prison sentences. "We don't want them around," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. (continues...)

REUTERS -
By Jeremy Pelofsky and Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday moved to cut $80 million earmarked for closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, a fresh setback for President Barack Obama's efforts to move beyond the Bush administration's anti-terror policies.
Backpedaling after intense criticism from Republicans and even some Democrats, the White House acknowledged it needed to submit a plan dealing with the 240 terrorism suspects being held at the prison on a U.S. naval base in Cuba. (continues...)