New Ad To Close Gitmo Battles Conservative Rhetoric

By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service

The National Campaign to Close Guantanamo launched what will be a multi-million dollar ad campaign Tuesday that will urge Americans nationwide to pressure members of Congress to shut down the detention facility.

The group is joining forces with retired Generals Bob Gard and John Johns and VoteVets.org to fight what the group described as scare tactics from the far right attempting to block the House legislation from transferring Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the United States.

“The campaign we launched today will not rest until the fear-mongering has been silenced and Gitmo and torture have been retired to the dark chapter of America’s past where they belong,” director of National Campaign to Close Guantanamo and former Rep. Tom Andrews (D-Maine) said in a conference call.

President Barack Obama is attempting to meet a self-imposed deadline for closing Gitmo by Jan. 22, 2010, but Gard said although it “appears unlikely” that the deadline will be reached, it needs to be closed as soon as possible.

“The longer it remains open the more it will be exploited to recruit terrorists against our national security interests,” Gard said.

Johns said Gitmo is often viewed in the world as a symbol of torture and closing it could be the first step in solving other conflicts.

“If we can’t close Guantanamo and if we can’t stand up to this relentless right-wing attack on closing Guantanamo then we can not do anything else,” Johns said. “We believe that with the momentum of successfully closing this stain on America, we will be able to address successfully all the related issues.”