"Back in February, President Obama met with 9/11 families and the families of American sailors who died in the 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole. The meeting was necessitated by the administration’s soft stance in prosecuting the war on terror, the president’s promise to shut down the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the decision to drop charges against Abu Rahim al-Nashiri, the suspected mastermind of the Cole bombing. Faced with a potential onslaught of negative publicity from the victims’ families, the Obama White House went into campaign mode and invited 40 family members to the White House. One of those in attendance was Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America.
Last week, Ms. Burlingame released an op-ed recounting her experience at the meeting and reviewing some of the administration’s actions since that February day at the White House. She said the president warmly greeted the families of the Cole victims and called them the “conscience of the country.” President Obama assured them that he would “seek swift and certain justice” for those responsible for the terrorist atrocities on 9/11 and Cole bombing, which killed 17 American sailors. According to Ms. Burlingame, the families pushed back – making the case for GITMO and reiterating the problems with prosecuting terrorists in U.S. courts. The president sought to “assuage their fears” and told the families, “This isn’t goodbye, this is hello,” promising an open line of communication if they had future concerns.
Seventeen days later, the administration announced that it was releasing Binyam Mohamed from GITMO. Mohamed had been recruited and trained by Al Qaeda to carry out post-9/11 attacks in America ranging from attacking subways (as Al Qaeda did in London), to spraying cyanide gas in night clubs, to blowing up gas tankers or bringing down apartment buildings with a natural gas explosion. Ms. Burlingame notes other administration actions, including its plans to release some GITMO detainees in America, and concluded, “We’d been had. …Given all the developments since our meeting with the president, it is now evident that his words to us bore no relation to his intended actions on national security policy and detainee issues. … I asked Cmdr. Kirk Lippold (captain of the USS Cole) why some of the Cole families declined the invitation to meet with Barack Obama at the White House. [He replied] ‘They saw it for what it was.’” Click here to listen to the mother of one of the Cole victims who refused to meet with President Obama and now regrets having voted for him."
Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families
Last week, Ms. Burlingame released an op-ed recounting her experience at the meeting and reviewing some of the administration’s actions since that February day at the White House. She said the president warmly greeted the families of the Cole victims and called them the “conscience of the country.” President Obama assured them that he would “seek swift and certain justice” for those responsible for the terrorist atrocities on 9/11 and Cole bombing, which killed 17 American sailors. According to Ms. Burlingame, the families pushed back – making the case for GITMO and reiterating the problems with prosecuting terrorists in U.S. courts. The president sought to “assuage their fears” and told the families, “This isn’t goodbye, this is hello,” promising an open line of communication if they had future concerns.
Seventeen days later, the administration announced that it was releasing Binyam Mohamed from GITMO. Mohamed had been recruited and trained by Al Qaeda to carry out post-9/11 attacks in America ranging from attacking subways (as Al Qaeda did in London), to spraying cyanide gas in night clubs, to blowing up gas tankers or bringing down apartment buildings with a natural gas explosion. Ms. Burlingame notes other administration actions, including its plans to release some GITMO detainees in America, and concluded, “We’d been had. …Given all the developments since our meeting with the president, it is now evident that his words to us bore no relation to his intended actions on national security policy and detainee issues. … I asked Cmdr. Kirk Lippold (captain of the USS Cole) why some of the Cole families declined the invitation to meet with Barack Obama at the White House. [He replied] ‘They saw it for what it was.’” Click here to listen to the mother of one of the Cole victims who refused to meet with President Obama and now regrets having voted for him."
Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families
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