Frank Beckmann

Michigan deserves answers on terror detainees

There is only one question to be answered about transferring terrorist detainees from the Guantanamo Bay naval facility to the soon-to-be-shuttered, maximum-security prison in the small Michigan town of Standish.

Is it worth the risk, however small, that experts say will be created by housing the more than 220 detainees who remain at Gitmo?

Some Standish residents began raising those concerns and disputing claims of benefits this week at a pair of town hall-style meetings in Rochester Hills and Okemos.

Former Arenac County Commissioner Kelly Kimball cited a loss of the small-town lifestyle that Standish enjoys.

Restaurant owner Dave Munson warned of a loss of tourism if terrorists are housed there.

And Tom Kerrins, president of the Standish Prison corrections officers union, disputed claims by politicians that a Gitmo North would create 1,000 jobs. He said none of the current prison guards will be retained and all the new guards and staff will be temporary residents, rotated in and out of town by the Department of Defense, which would oversee the new prisoners.

But the most serious apprehension over bringing trained terrorists to Michigan was raised by Peter Leitner, president of the Higgins Counterterrorism Research Center, who worked 21 years for the Department of Defense.

While Standish officials like City Manager Mike Moran downplay any potential danger, Leitner warns that "these are not thugs, they are the rock stars of international terrorism."

Leitner says the Gitmo detainees include terrorist trainers, bomb makers, Osama Bin Laden's ex-bodyguard and would-be suicide bombers. But he's just as concerned about their colleagues on the outside.

"They target for fear and the biggest impact," he said, citing the 2004 Beslan school massacre by Chechen terrorists in Russia -- where 334 hostages, including 186 children, were killed -- as a worst-case scenario Michigan could face.

"Standish would become radioactive to the rest of the world," Leitner warned.

While the Obama administration wants to move the detainees and close Gitmo by Jan. 22, 2010, no such final decision should be made before Michigan is given full disclosure on the backgrounds of the terrorists.

The administration, which hasn't shown much willingness to accept GOP input, has refused to declassify that information despite requests from U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Holland, ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.

Michigan deserves such transparency, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm should loudly demand it before any final decision is made.

We need to know exactly what jobs will be created, how much business will be displaced by clearing massive tracts of land for a buffer zone around the prison and the logistics for defending the community in the slim chance of attack.

But if the approach to the stimulus, cap-and-trade and health care bills are any indication, the Obama administration prefers quick action before Americans can digest planned policy decisions.

Such secrecy is unacceptable -- especially with the lack of clear benefits for Michigan and potential risk of attack involved with housing terror detainees in Standish.

Frank Beckmann is host of "The Frank Beckmann Show" on WJR (760 AM) from 9 a.m.-noon Monday-Friday. His column appears on Friday. E-mail comments to letters@detnews.com.