Perino Confirms White House Canceled Meeting On Guantanamo Closure After AP Report
Perino Confirms White House Canceled Meeting On Guantanamo Closure After AP Report
Last night, the Associated Press reported that the Bush administration was “nearing a decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility,” and that senior officials were “expected to discuss the move at the White House on Friday.”
The White House originally denied there was a scheduled White House meeting to discuss the topic. During a press briefing today, White House spokesperson Dana Perino confirmed that the White House had tried to mislead the public:
Yes, there was going to be a meeting today. But there was a determination that it wasn’t needed. … I think that the decision to not have the meeting happened late in the day after that story came out.
Perino confirmed that the closure of Guantanamo was a focus of the meeting. “The meeting was going to be focusing on doing what the president has asked them to do for the past few years, which is work to get the facility closed,” said Perino. “I wasn’t there to decide why the meeting was canceled,” she said. “All I know is that the meeting was canceled.” Watch it:
Vice President Dick Cheney is not interested in closing Guantanamo. The Washington Post reported today that “there has been significant opposition from Vice President Cheney as well as from the Justice and Homeland Security departments.” It appears the forces against the Guantanamo closure will use any excuse — including the release of a tepid AP article — to delay what needs to be done.
Transcript:
QUESTION: Can we go on to Guantanamo?PERINO: Sure.
QUESTION: Was there a meeting scheduled for today to discuss Guantanamo?
PERINO: There’s meetings scheduled regularly to talk about Guantanamo. They happen frequently, they happen often because people are charged with the responsibilities that the president has given them to try to close down that facility.
Yes, there was going to be a meeting today. But there was a determination that it wasn’t needed.
QUESTION: Was it because of the AP story?
PERINO: I think that the decision to not have the meeting happened late in the day after that story came out.
What I can tell you is that meeting was not a decisional meeting, there was nothing imminent coming out of that meeting and that there are people who are tasked with working on this issue every day — not only here at the White House, but at the Defense Department, State Department and other agencies — to make sure that we are figuring out a way to repatriate these individuals so they can go back to their countries in a way that we can make sure that they’re going to be held and not a threat to anybody else, as well as be treated humanely.
QUESTION: Are you nearing a decision? Was there anything different about this meeting? Are these meetings (inaudible) secretary of state? Was there something different? Was this going to be a focus?
PERINO: Well, the meeting was going to be focusing on doing what the president has asked them to do for the past few years, which is work to get the facility closed.
I think that report was overblown. There was not an imminent decision made. There’s no deadline. It was just a regular meeting.
QUESTION: (inaudible) it was imminent. I mean, was this…
PERINO: It did say it was imminent.
QUESTION: Why would you — they said they were nearing a decision. Why would you cancel a meeting after a press report about that?
PERINO: There was a decision that a meeting wasn’t necessary.
But that should not lead you to think that there aren’t people who are either talking about it today or working toward it.
PERINO: In fact, I think today…
QUESTION: Why wasn’t the meeting necessary?
I mean, the timing was a little strange. And then the White House was able to say, There’s no meeting scheduled for tomorrow when you started getting press reports. Was the meeting canceled because of the press report?
PERINO: I wasn’t there to decide why the meeting was canceled.
All I know is that the meeting was canceled. It wasn’t — I was told that it wasn’t necessary to have it.
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I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone on this board for my bad behavior. I am not really as retarded as I seem when I post. I promise to do better in the future.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:07 pmGood.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:12 pmWhy cant she say ”
“yes — it was cancelled after the report in the press”
why?
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:13 pmFrom the article:
“Yes, there was going to be a meeting today. But there was a determination that it wasn’t needed.”
What absolute rubbish! It wasn’t needed! We are watching a Laurel and Hardy comedy!
(My apologies to Laurel and Hardy.)
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:15 pmWhere is Valiant Venus? I really miss having some friendly, female company around.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:15 pmPERINO: Well, the meeting was going to be focusing on doing what the president has asked them to do for the past few years, which is work to get the facility closed.
The Chimp has been trying to get Gitmo closed for a few years?
Liar.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:17 pm#1 Comment by Jake — June 22, 2007 @ 4:07 pm
I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone on this board for my bad behavior. I am not really as retarded as I seem when I post. I promise to do better in the future.
Wow! If you are real here, I applaud your decision and effort. If this is snark, I expect you will pay dearly. Then again if this is a namejacking…
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:18 pmThe Chimp has been trying to get Gitmo closed for a few years?
Yeah, cuz when the President asks you to do something, you usually just take your sweet time and get to it when you have a spare minute. Or something.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:20 pmMaybe the Vice President has been busy making sure that the President doesn’t make any stupid mistakes like close the camp or something.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:21 pmWho cares what Cheney says or doesn’t say? If he isn’t a member of the Executive Branch (which, of course, is an exercise in bovine scatology), is neither a member of Congress nor the Judiciary, then he’s just a fascist f*ckstick barking at the moon. Why not just arrest him for impersonating a government official?
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:22 pmWhat the decider hasnt been able to get the base closed? He can and does what he pleases doesnt he? Seriously, who would there be to stop him?
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:23 pmPERINO: Well, the meeting was going to be focusing on doing what the president has asked them to do for the past few years, which is work to get the facility closed.
The Chimp has been trying to get Gitmo closed for a few years?
Liar.
Comment by Zooey
Oh, he wants it closed. It’s just that they’re taking a long time executing all those troublesome prisoners that are keeping the place open.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:23 pmThe color pink is supposed to be calming and relaxing. Not anymore.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:23 pmI bet inmates in our prison system would love the conditions in Guantanamo.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:23 pmAh. That was a sweet, blood-dripping raw steak. Now I’ve got more energy again.
I don’t see why the Executive should tell you anything about their meetings or how they schedule them. They should not close the camp, but if they do, make sure that the “innoecent people” in there are released in dem-rich areas of the country. After all, they’re harmless – right?
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:24 pm“fascist f*ckstick”
That’s funny. LOL
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:24 pmOf course Cheney doesn’t want to close the gitmo prison…to much money being made by Halliburton…
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,159930,00.html
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:24 pmMarkFoley54
Is the office of the VP in the executive branch?
Ask any 8th grader.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:26 pmBush really is between a rock and a hard place. He knows that Gitmo has cost this country dearly in good will in the world and he knows that it reflects badly on him as the President. The problem is that he can’t bring these people to trial or release them because if he does either, the world will know how they have been treated. The world will know that we have been torturing these people. I would not be at all surprised to hear about some horrible “accident” happening at Gitmo that blows the place sky high with everyone in it (including our people). That would be a quick and dirty way of getting rid of the problem and I would not put it past this administration to do something like that.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:27 pmThe color pink is supposed to be calming and relaxing. Not anymore.
Comment by ForTruth — June 22, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
And are those scales on the front of her dress? Are they sending out Lizard People to do press briefings now?
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:28 pmFrom the press conference;
PERINO: There was a decision that a meeting wasn’t necessary.
Ah! So we are now to assume that discussing the closure is not necessary? If this “closure” is a real thing, everything else is essentially moot. If the decision has been made “years ago” as she says, what is left to discuss? What the prisoners are going to have for lunch?
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:29 pm#18: Checks-and-balances is a quaint concept. The Executive leads the rest of the country – at least this one.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:31 pmI think closing Guantanamo is just hogwash.
-Dick Cheney
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:33 pmThe color pink is supposed to be calming and relaxing. Not anymore.
Comment by ForTruth — June 22, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
And are those scales on the front of her dress? Are they sending out Lizard People to do press briefings now?
Comment by Wayne A. Schneider
That’s a horrendous pink. :P
And she’s missing her pearls…..
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:33 pmA manager “leads” a baseball team, but he still has to play by the rules. He can’t just decide that his team will only play by the rules he likes. And Bush ain’t the boss of me. If anything, I’m HIS boss. At least, that’s how his father saw the job. Maybe that’s why Bush ignores the constitution.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:34 pmOh, he wants it closed. It’s just that they’re taking a long time executing all those troublesome prisoners that are keeping the place open.
Comment by gummitch
They could take the to the beach and let the sharks and barracudas do the job.
Oy, what a disgrace….
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:35 pmThe White House press core needs me. I could make her talk.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:35 pmSo the troll had a dripping tube steak for lunch for energy?
That’s more information than I need.
Wipe your chin little buddy, there’s a little KKKarl seepage. Or about 3 million little KKKarls I should say.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:36 pmChimp wants to close Gitmo about as bad as he wants to try all the (permanent) detainees through military tribunals. Just how many detainees at Gitmo have been given a trial? How many? …. I thought so.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:36 pmThe White House press core needs me. I could make her talk.
Comment by Jack Bauer — June 22, 2007 @ 4:35 pm
LOL, good one. I can picture him sternly walking up to the podium, grabbing her by the throat, putting a huge knife under her eyeball and yelling in her face, “Tell me what I want to know!”
Not that I would really want to see that happen, but a boy can dream, can’t he?
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:39 pmThis is from post #17:
Halliburton Gets Gitmo Contract
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
E-MAIL STORY
PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
WASHINGTON — A subsidiary of Houston-based Halliburton (search) has been awarded a $30 million contract to build an improved 220-bed prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay (search), Cuba, the Pentagon announced.
Kellogg Brown and Root Services Inc. (search) of Arlington, Va., is to build a two-story prison that includes day rooms, exercise areas, medical bays, air conditioning and a security control room, according to the Pentagon. It is to be completed by July 2006.
Congress previously approved the funding for the construction job. Some members, along with human rights groups, are now calling for Guantanamo to close because of reports of prisoner abuse`It is also expected to require less manpower to operate.”
The new prison building, called Detention Camp .6, will replace some of the older facilities at the Navy base, which officials say are not adequate for holding prisoners for the long term.
The total contract could be worth up to $500 million through 2010, the Pentagon said.
Looks like the real decider in this most corrupt government is DeadEyeDick himself. $500,000,000.00 more for Halliburton, less. of course, Cheney’s commission.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:40 pmLiberals of course as we all know support the troops.
Oops, they did it again.
Last year, the DNC embarrassed itself with a website purporting to support US troops. Only one problem, as a sharp-eyed tipster told me: The soldier depicted in the patriotic display was Canadian.
Oopsy.
Looks like the Democrats are still using webmasters who don’t have a clue what American troops look like–and they are working in Nancy Pelosi’s office. McQ at Q&O has the screenshots (which are likely to disappear soon, if Pelosi’s staff is awake today). The one above comes from the front page of Pelosi’s official speaker’s website. Here’s the close-up of the soldier with “CANADA†on her epaulets:
Can the Dems get anymore snort-worthy?
Like Blackfive said in response to last year’s DNC website gaffe: “…how screwed up must you be to post about how much your party supports the troops, but not know who your troops are?â€
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:44 pmAmong the other findings in a survey done by the National Center for Health Statistics:
* About 96 percent of U.S. adults have had sex
Who could possibly be in that remaining 4 percent?
MAF54?
Patrick1?
Jake?
Rogerx2?
Valiant Venus?
Exley?
Squeegie?
Jason Hendler?
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:47 pmHope this doesn’t interupt or change the plans for the Gitmo wing at the George Bush 43 Presidentil Library. It has the most special effects and visualizations.
HISTORICAL COLLOSSAL FAILURE
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:48 pmI’ve had sex, and I’d be honored to have a go at Valiant Venus. I’ll be gentle.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:49 pmjake you will be impotent like your Failure in Chief.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:50 pmI’ve had sex, and I’d be honored to have a go at Valiant Venus. I’ll be gentle.
Comment by Jake
VV was looking for more lesbian sex earlier (not that there’s anything wrong with than) so I don’t think you’re her type anymore.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:52 pmJake yer gonna have to take out the catheter for that.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:53 pmWell Jake is a big pussy, so….
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:53 pmBush hasn’t been trying to close Gitmo for years. Haliburton is just now finishing up its work on the permanent no-bid contracted prison.
Any talks of clsoing Gitmo are just that, talking, nothing more.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:55 pmIt’s easy to mock, but… no, it’s just easy to mock. Check out this:
Via Q&O, which notes, it’s already been pulled from the Speaker’s website. Captain Ed notes “I guess the Democrats never learn to do research before putting pictures on websites.” A mean thing to say, but alas, not particularly inaccurate.
There are those who will wonder why we’re front-paging Speaker Pelosi’s inability to tell the difference between Canadian and American soldiers. The answer? This gaffe is the first evidence that we’ve had in several weeks that the woman is actually still alive, conscious and doing things. I’m frankly shocked: I never thought that I’d ever see a Speaker of the House who was simply too ineffectual to be a megalomaniac.
Umm, well done?
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:55 pmNice copy/paste.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:57 pmHalliburton needs to build that giant ice-cube maker, so we can put giant ice cubes in the ocean, like in The Inconvenient Truth.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:58 pm“Like Blackfive said in response to last year’s DNC website gaffe: ‘…how screwed up must you be to post about how much your party supports the troops, but not know who your troops are?’
Comment by Frank J — June 22, 2007 @ 4:44 pm”
But somehow we still managed win a majority of state legislatures, a majority of Governorships, and the majority in the House and Senate after this mistake.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:59 pm#18: Checks-and-balances is a quaint concept. The Executive leads the rest of the country – at least this one.
Comment by MAF54
Yep. Thats right sh@thead. This president leads us right over the cliff. And I think you are ok with that. I can imagine you on the Titantic, moving all those chairs around so they don’t get wet.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:01 pm“I can imagine you on the Titantic, moving all those chairs around so they don’t get wet.”
These people would deny the Titanic was sinking because the Captain said “Bring on the Icebergs”
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:05 pmOh well. Whatever. At least we have hot ladies like Perino, Ann, andx Michelle.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:08 pmIts like the only way to get Bush to do the right thing is to not talk about it before.
Iraq Study Group – he was reported to be looking to follow their recommendations as a way to get out of Iraq.
Then it got talked about a little that “daddy’s friends” were riding in to save him, he didn’t like the potential embarrassment, and here we are almost a year later but with more dead Americans.
Now he had a chance to do the right thing on Gitmo, and he is too worried about suffering ego damage.
When folks talk about Bush in stark terms at my site’s live chatbox, the local conservatives get extremely upset, they don’t like to hear anything about their faith in bush being wrong.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:08 pmGod this bitch is horrible!!!
Your supposed to answer like this:
Q – Why was the meeting canceled?
A – Because we didn’t want to meet. Next line of questioning.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:10 pm“Your supposed to answer like this:
Q – Why was the meeting canceled?
A – Because we didn’t want to meet. Next line of questioning.”
Exactly, is that so hard.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:14 pmIt’s easy to mock, but… no, it’s just easy to mock. Check out this:
Via Q&O, which notes, it’s already been pulled from the Speaker’s website. Captain Ed notes “I guess the Democrats never learn to do research before putting pictures on websites.†A mean thing to say, but alas, not particularly inaccurate.
There are those who will wonder why we’re front-paging Speaker Pelosi’s inability to tell the difference between Canadian and American soldiers. The answer? This gaffe is the first evidence that we’ve had in several weeks that the woman is actually still alive, conscious and doing things. I’m frankly shocked: I never thought that I’d ever see a Speaker of the House who was simply too ineffectual to be a megalomaniac.
Umm, well done?
Comment by Frank J
A website blunder? Let’s assume for the moment that Nancy Pelosi actually sat down and did all the HTML coding and photo manipulation for the website and yes, it’s a big oops.
Terrible thing, a dopey website. Now in contrast:
Iraq occupation–complete disaster
Pursuit of Osama–complete failure
“democratization” of Afghanistan–stalled on account of the trips went somewhere else
protection and succor of the citizens of the Gulf States–complete disaster well after the event
Do I need to continue?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:18 pmAny talks of clsoing Gitmo are just that, talking, nothing more.
Comment by Spudge_Boy
Oh they might close Gitmo. But they won’t release the detainees. They’ll just find some unknown secret prison to ship them off to.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:20 pmHence, the reason GITMO isn’t being shut down this afternoon, as Colin Powell said he would do.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:23 pmUmm, well done?
Comment by Frank J
Oh it must be nice to be the spokesboy for an administration that doesn’t make mistakes (that they admit to). Glad you’re so happy with your leaders, hope you don’t mind being a minority.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:23 pmThe detainees are going to Norway.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:24 pmThey have decided to close it, but want to release the decision themselves.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:25 pmLook, they probably needed a tad more time to get our new Afghan prison complete. Once that is complete, we can transfer all the terrorists we have detained at Gitmo. I mean, we need somewhere to stash these terrorists.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:25 pmThe detainees are going to Norway.
Comment by ForTruth — June 22, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
You mean, they’re going to sic Seixon on them? Good luck to them.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:28 pmLook, they probably needed a tad more time to get our new Afghan prison complete. Once that is complete, we can transfer all the terrorists we have detained at Gitmo. I mean, we need somewhere to stash these terrorists.
Comment by Roger_Roger
How do we know they’re terrorists, were there secret trials somewhere nobody knows about. If they are terrorist why not try them and convict them of something, anything.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:28 pmActually, the US is helping to build a prison in Afghanistan. They plan to ship detainees there. They say only the Afghan’s, but we all know that’s bull.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:30 pmI linked it in the earlier Gitmo thread today.
If they are Muslim, and were picked up in the ME, then they must be terra-ists. Right Roger?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:36 pm#18: Checks-and-balances is a quaint concept. The Executive leads the rest of the country – at least this one.
Comment by MAF54
Come on, let us have it the way you said it a few weeks ago:
He is the commander-in-chief and we (and you) will obey him. Otherwise you’re traitorous scum. Comment by MAF54 — May 31, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
Come on Adolf, you know you want to ….links, rechts, links, rechts
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:36 pm…
If they are Muslim, and were picked up in the ME, then they must be terra-ists. Right Roger?
Comment by ForTruth — June 22, 2007 @ 5:36 pm
I drove by a halal butcher shop earlier, and there were a bunch of people in there… shall we round them up too?
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:37 pmYeah sick Seixon on those detainees.
Or we could put them all on that Superman ride in Kentucky, jeez. Get their feet cut off.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:39 pmWhere is Valiant Venus? I really miss having some friendly, female company around.
Comment by Jake
Sigh…We know Jake. We know.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:41 pmI don’t think its the real Jake. Just sayin’
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:45 pmTerry,
The butcher shop dudes are especially dangerous, cuz they have meat cleavers, and they chop up flesh and bones. I say round em up.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:47 pmForTruth,
What about the people that demolish buildings or miners. They use explosives. That seems dangerous. Let’s arrest them too. And the companies that make scissors you can’t run with. They intentionally put people in danger.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:49 pmI agree Spudge_Boy,
Lets arrest any type of demolition crew, and miners too. Miners make the government look bad anyway, always getting killed in unsafe conditions.
I think all 7/11 stores are next on the radar.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:52 pmWhere is Valiant Venus? I really miss having some friendly, female company around.
Comment by Jake
Sigh…We know Jake. We know.
Comment by Tom
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:02 pmJust goes to show that women rule the world. Love you boys. But you know less and less of you are going to college. We trump you on enrollments. You are becoming obselete.
The good ol’ msm was led down the garden path yet again by the liar in chief. AP thought they had a story but all they had was a manipulative lie.
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:03 pm#20 Wayne ~ Remember V ?
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:51 pm#20 Wayne ~ Remember V ?
Comment by RUCerious
Ohhhh, I remember!! I had a crush on Diana (in Spanish) Jane Badler, even when she was a lizard.
June 22nd, 2007 at 7:40 pmShe doesn’t lie well does she?
June 22nd, 2007 at 10:53 pmComment by samantha — June 22, 2007 @ 6:02 pm
Advisory to Samantha: College is only one of many ways to succeed, and there are many ways to attend college. I know you’ve been ill-educated by the masses that it’s a “no chance” scenario if you don’t attend, but this isn’t the case. Perhaps the men in this country are doing some dirty work – Iraq being an example – so you can retain your right to be in your clean, pretty pink academic playpen and utter useless drivel.
Thank you for expressing demographic excitement that will do little to benefit you in the long run. Try taking the socialism courses a bit less seriously or you might just become an irritant in the workplace.
June 23rd, 2007 at 4:50 pmExactly how much does a White House Press Secretary get paid?
Should it be contracted out?
Because the American tax payers are being overcharged for this position I am sure.
June 25th, 2007 at 4:16 amfunny freudian slip…..
“we have people who are charged with……………….uh, tasked with….”
How much you wanna bet they have told her never to use the phrase “charged with” in reference to any administration connected individual?
June 25th, 2007 at 9:48 amDear Friends at Think Progress, We political prisoners at Guantanamo Bay appreciate infidels demonstrating their magnanamous generosity in an effort to show us, and the rest of Muslim people, you are not the barbarians we know you are. We appreciate your naivete depicting us as criminals instead of combatants. But your foolish opinion we are criminals shows the incomprehensible self-centeredness of you. We are not – we are soldiers in a holy war and you have not yet awakened to this fact. We have no desire to negotiate with you, we desire, by all that’s holy, to kill you or convert you.
Have a nice day!
June 26th, 2007 at 11:11 amJake – It is so nice to be missed!!! I have been up to my Ferragamo’s in work!! (Crime knows no holiday!!) It is kind of of you, Rambo Troll et al to take the time to “liven up” the cadaver of s*cialism – oh wait….it’s now referred to in the PC speak as “progressivism”. (Pssst….you know something is terribly wrong with a “product” when they keep re-labelling “new and improved” versions of the same old cr*p. tee-hee!!)
Tooodles…………….
June 26th, 2007 at 11:22 am