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| Iowa politics a player in detainee prison debate |
| By chicagotribune.com |
| Published: 11/25/2009 |
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IOWA CITY, Iowa - It didn't take long for proposals to house Guantanamo Bay detainees at a nearly empty Illinois prison to spark tough talk by Republicans -- across the Mississippi River in Iowa. U.S. Rep. Steve King claimed the plan would lead to a "terrorist enclave" just a few miles from Iowa. U.S. Rep. Tom Latham introduced legislation that would prohibit the transfer of the detainees to Iowa, Illinois and nine other Midwestern states. U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley said he understands why Iowans would be worried about the prison plan. And Republican Party of Iowa head Matt Strawn challenged Iowa's three Democratic members of Congress to oppose the move. "Will they stand up to President Obama and tell him that these terrorists aren't welcome in the Heartland? Iowans deserve an answer," Strawn said in a statement. For their part, Democrats have emphasized the possibility of 3,000 new jobs for a region about 10 miles from Clinton, Iowa. Drake University political science professor Dennis Goldford said Tuesday the proposal by President Barack Obama raises significant questions, but he wondered whether politics were getting in the way of seriously examining the plan. Read More. |
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