Republicans Cry Foul Over Guantananmo's New Soccer Field

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Detainees
Posted on Mon Mar 05, 2012 at 12:53:38 PM EST
Tags: Guantanamo (all tags)

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Carole Rosenberg at the Miami Herald writes about Republican outrage over a $750,000 soccer field just completed at Guantanamo for the detainees. It opens in April. It cost $750,000.

One Republican, Rep. Dennis Ross (Lakeland, Fla.) has even introduced a bill called the “NO FIELD Act” which stands for " None of Our Funds for the Interest, Exercise, or Leisure of Detainees Act." It would reduce the Defense budget for 2013 by

The first-term Ross shows his lack of knowledge about who is being held at Gitmo with this comment: [More...]

“Gitmo ....should house the worst of the worst of the world’s terrorists, not be a training ground for the World Cup.”

Apparently he's missed (or ignored) the fact that most of those still held at Gitmo have been cleared for release. Many are not and never were terrorists at all, let alone the "world's worst terrorists." The only reason they are still there is because Congresspersons like him have refused to allow them to leave.

The last departure of a live detainee was in January, 2011. Two others have left, one who died during exercise and one who committed suicide.

Republicans can't have it both ways. Either continue to pay the $800,000 per year per detainee it costs to house them, or let them go and transfer the ones who are accused of being terrorists to our federal courts.

The Obama administration calculates that it costs $800,000 a year to keep a prisoner at Guantánamo versus about $26,000 on U.S. soil. The base imports and consumes $100,000 of fuel a day to make its own electricity and water and does no business with the Cubans across the minefield. An economic embargo on the Castro government forbids Americans from doing business with Cuba.

The solution is quite simple. Close Guantanamo.

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Republicans Cry Foul Over Guantananmo's New Soccer Field | 8 comments (8 topical)

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rep. ross' real gripe is that (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by cpinva on Mon Mar 05, 2012 at 02:30:08 PM EST

the $750k could have been used to reduce the marginal tax rate on wealthy folks by .001%. priorities people, priorities!

Stress Positions are more the Republican (none / 0) (#1)
by Mr Natural on Mon Mar 05, 2012 at 01:22:56 PM EST

- idea of Recreation.

I admit, though, that $750K seems a bit steep for what is basically an empty field with two nets and a bit of paint. The pricing reminds me of Cheney's no bid contracting.

At a cost (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by CoralGables on Mon Mar 05, 2012 at 01:57:10 PM EST

of $800,000 annually to house each prisoner at Guantanamo, $750,000 to be used by everyone seems quite cheap.


I read the seemingly high cost... (none / 0) (#4)
by kdog on Mon Mar 05, 2012 at 03:01:17 PM EST

is due to transportation costs...no Acme Building Supply locations in Gitmo, everything gets shipped in.

Blame Exxon/Mobil? ;)

I got no problem with it, in fact I'm rooting for the men without a country or due process to qualify for the next World Cup.


: I've Been To Gitmo (none / 0) (#6)
by ScottW714 on Mon Mar 05, 2012 at 03:35:13 PM EST

It's a rock, so if they had to bring in dirt and sod, that would make sense. Plus all the contractor worker have to be brought it. And I highly doubt they stay over night, so some sort floating place for them to sleep would be needed.
It's stupid, if they had not tried to bypass the Constitution they would be on the mainland and the field would have cost the same as any field to build.
What I don't is why don't the prisoners just escape, if Harold and Kumar can do it on the first try...

I thought of the (none / 0) (#5)
by Wile ECoyote on Mon Mar 05, 2012 at 03:28:31 PM EST

city of Portland's no bid contracting, but this is cheaper.


An economic embargo on the Castro government (none / 0) (#7)
by Edger on Mon Mar 05, 2012 at 03:45:38 PM EST

forbids Americans from doing business with Cuba?

Except when they break the embargo...

The circumstances by which the United States came to occupy Guantánamo are as troubling as its past decade of activity there. In April 1898, American forces intervened in Cuba's three-year-old struggle for independence when it was all but won, thus transforming the Cuban War of Independence into what Americans are still wont to call the Spanish-American War. American officials then excluded the Cuban Army from the armistice and denied Cuba a seat at the Paris peace conference.
[snip]
Curiously, the United States' declaration of war on Spain included the assurance that America did not seek "sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control" over Cuba and intended "to leave the government and control of the island to its people."
But after the war, strategic imperatives took precedence over Cuban independence. The United States wanted dominion over Cuba, along with naval bases from which to exercise it.
[snip]
The annual lease, which cannot be ended unless both sides agree or the U.S. walks away, now costs about $4,200 annually in rent that is indexed to U.S. inflation. Perhaps Fidel has pondered what he might do if the payment is late, but it never is.

Multiply by one thousand (none / 0) (#8)
by Lacy on Mon Mar 05, 2012 at 03:54:52 PM EST

To find the real nut cases, just google 750,000,000 soccer field and see how many on the right actually think we spend three quarters of a billion on a Gitmo soccer field!! There are over 10,000 hits including some from Britain saying it was 750,000,000 English Pounds!