South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott on Wednesday reworked the classic Christmas poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” to blast President Obama for his plans to quickly transfer detainees and close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.
“Twas the night before Christmas/When all through the White House/The President was transferring terrorists as quiet as a mouse,” the Republican senator riffed in a tweet.
“The terrorists were nestled all snug in their well-guarded beds/While visions of returning to al-Qaeda or ISIS danced in their heads,” Mr. Scott continued, using an acronym for the Islamic State terror group.
In recent weeks Mr. Obama has ramped up efforts to close the detention facility, which he vowed to do in both of his presidential campaigns.
In his year-end press conference, Mr. Obama promised to deliver a plan to close the detention center and suggested that he would be willing to use and executive action to ensure it’s closure before he leaves office, should Congress reject his proposal.
Last week the Pentagon informed Congress that it would be moving 17 detainees before the end of January, the largest single transfer since 2007.
“17 last week were transferred with care/In the hopes he could close Guantanamo, and bring the rest here,” Mr. Scott’s poem continued. “And what to my wondering eyes should appear/But a site assessment team with locations to volunteer/With a neighborhood, a school, a church close enough for the terrorists to use/They whistled and shouted and called them by name: ’Now Charleston! Now Colorado! Now Kansas! Let us choose!”
Mr. Scott concluded his poem by promising to remain vigilant in the fight to keep the terrorists detained in the prison.
“We will fight to ensure terrorists remain in Guantanamo, surrounded by oceans and desert/Not to American soil as the President hopes to divert/With KSM in his cell and a Marine standing post/Americans from coast too [sic] coast know these terrorists are locked away safely, Guantanamo their host.”
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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