(KAIR)--Seven Kansas officials, including three from Leavenworth, were granted an inside look at one of the most classified prisons in the world.
Leavenworth Mayor Larry Dedeke, Leavenworth County Commissioner Mark Preisinger and Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson spent a little more than six hours at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.
“We were given a tour by General Parks,” Dedeke said. “They showed us the original camp that was first built in 01-02 by the Bush administration. Then he showed us the other camps and the last new one, which is very similar to American prisons.”
The group, joined by United States Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, also included Kansas State Senator Steve Fitzgerald and State Representatives Tony Barton and Willie Dove.
President Barack Obama has promised since his first campaign as president to close the center and relocate prisoners to United States facilities. One of those possible locations is Fort Leavenworth.
Jenkins said, in a press conference, the trip was to give local officials a first-account look at the facility in order to gain a better understanding of its workings. This way, Jenkins said, “They have more information and tools they need in the event they need to pursue legal action, at some point down the line, to prevent detainees from being transferred to Fort Leavenworth.”
Jenkins said she feels these are the worst of the worst, radical Islamic terrorists who wake up every day determined to harm Americans.
Jenkins and supporters received some good news days ago when Obama said he wouldn’t pursue executive orders to close the facility.
Guantanamo Bay is a an extremely controversial detention center coming under fire from several civil and human rights groups including the ACLU.
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