As news of Russian fighter planes entering the air space of a NATO member continue to reverberate, and as both Moscow and Beijing rapidly continue their well-funded efforts to become the dominant military powers on Earth, the White House continues to threaten a veto of the $612 billion defense authorization bill because it does not authorize the closing of Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.
Spending for defense under this measure would be smaller, despite inflation, than it was when President Obama first took office. The amount of funds provided by the legislation is not in question. Indeed, it is the number requested by the White House. Critics of the President’s defense policy believe that it underfunds the military at a time when international threats are rapidly increasing.
It remains highly questionable why Guantanamo’s closing should be anywhere on a list of priorities. Removed from public access and away from American territory, it provides a venue to house terrorist prisoners in a locale free from the threat of attack and where no U.S. civilians could be harmed.
Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) has noted that President Obama has not even presented a viable plan of how to deal with the prisoners currently residing at Guantanamo.
Holding up the important defense measure, with its funding for vital national security activities as well as for overdue benefits for service members and their families over what has become a boutique issue for a very small percentage of voters seems irrational. It raises questions of whether the President has an additional priority—perhaps the closing of the Guantanamo base in general—in mind.
Despite the December 2014 agreement by Cuba to allow the Russian navy to return to cold war bases on the island, and despite the continued oppression of political dissidents there, the White House opened relations with the Castro regime in January, ignoring the fact that Havana continues its support for terrorist activities.
The White House veto threat has angered the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) who noted “The world is getting more dangerous by the day, our allies believe we are missing-in-action, and our enemies are gaining ground across the globe. The only redline the President is willing to enforce is vetoing the bill that pays or troops. Is that the legacy he really seeks?”
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The White House and the Republican-majority congress have also battled over a portion the $89.2 billion “overseas contingency fund” portion of the bill, used to battle terrorist activities in the Middle East and Afghanistan. The Congressional version classifies the funds as part of the regular Pentagon budget in order to not have those funds be subjected to mandatory sequestration restrictions.
Mr. Obama’s questionable release of key Guantanamo prisoners in the past, his refusal to classify a terrorist attacks at a military base in the United States (classifying the actions of the perpetrator, Nidal Malik Hassan who killed 13 and wounded 30 at Fort Hood as “workplace violence”) and his insistence on closing Guantanamo prison without any viable alternative have led to sharp questions about his willingness to confront the Islamic extremist threat.
As the President continues to concentrate on closing Guantanamo, concern over Russia’s incursion into Turkey, a NATO member, grows. In a statement, NATO said its allied nations “expressed their deep concern with regard to the Russian military build-up in Syria and especially the attacks by the Russian Air Force on Hama, Homs, and Idlib which led to civilian casualties and did not target Da’esh. Allies call on the Russian Federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians, to focus its efforts on fighting ISIL, and to promote a solution to the conflict through a political transition.
Russian military actions have reached a more dangerous level with the recent violations of Turkish airspace on 3 October and 4 October by Russian Air Force SU-30 and SU-24 aircraft in the Hatay region. The aircraft in question entered Turkish airspace despite Turkish authorities’ clear, timely and repeated warnings. In accordance with NATO practice, Turkish fighter aircraft responded to these incursions by closing to identify the intruder, after which the Russian planes departed Turkish airspace.
Allies strongly protest these violations of Turkish sovereign airspace, and condemn these incursions into and violations of NATO airspace. Allies also note the extreme danger of such irresponsible behaviour. They call on the Russian Federation to cease and desist, and immediately explain these violations.
Allies call on the Russian side to take all necessary measures to ensure that such violations do not take place in the future.”