American Morning
Senator wants to keep Gitmo detainees out of U.S.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/20/inhofe.art.jpg caption="Senator Inhofe says the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is a great resource."]
President Obama's own party is undercutting his plans to try to close the detainee camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Senate Democrats say they're pulling the $80 million from the war spending bill he requested to close Gitmo. They say they need to know more about what the president plans to do with the detainees first.
Republican Senator James Inhofe says he will do everything possible to make sure that Gitmo detainees do not end up here on U.S. soil. He spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Wednesday.
Kiran Chetry: Why are you so strongly opposed to allowing detainees from Guantanamo in to the U.S. either for detention or trial?
James Inhofe: The problem is – and they had suggested at one time, this came out of the White House, that they had some 17 places in the United States where they would put these detainees. The problem with that is they becomes magnets to terrorism... In fact, 27 of our states have passed resolutions to their state legislatures not to allow them to come in to their particular states. So there's a good reason for that.
The other problem that I have is that if somehow they come in to our country and we can't use tribunals because we don't have facilities for that, they go into the court system, they could very well be turned loose because the rules of evidence are different with tribunals… with detainees than they are with criminals. So that's a serious problem. I go one step further though, Kiran. I don't want to close Gitmo. It’s a great resource. Every team that's gone there including Eric Holder has come back with glowing reports – how well people are treated, one doctor for every two detainees. There’s no place where they can be treated as well as Gitmo. It’s a great resource.
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
From CNN's Carol Costello and Ronni Berke
It's a promise President Barack Obama keeps on making: “Don't Ask. Don't Tell” will go away. In February 2008, he told a crowd: "I'm going to do it by putting together a military panel made up of people like General [John Shalikashvili]."
The president said that as a candidate last year. So far no panel of any kind has been convened to discuss the best way to allow gays to serve openly. Critics say Mr. Obama hasn't even issued an executive order prohibiting the military from firing gay soldiers like Lt. David Choi, until that "panel" is born.
"I want to serve," Choi told CNN. "I want to fight, I want to serve my country but because I'm gay and nobody wants to do anything about it right now of course that's supremely frustrating."
Nobody is doing much about it right now because, despite presidential support, there is still some opposition to repealing the measure.
Some, like retired Army Lt. Colonel Robert Maginnis, oppose repealing the law. “You have forced intimate situations where you say, look, you know, you're going to room with this person, and that's an order. Then, in fact, you can begin to have the residuals, the morale issue, the whole issue about retention and recruitment come up.”
The Pentagon says they can't move on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" until Congress does first.
“This building views 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' as the law of the land until Congress acts otherwise,” says Defense Department Press Secretary Geoff Morrell. “We can't willy-nilly choose which laws we wish to abide by and those we don't.”
Gitmo torture allegations
One military attorney is speaking out – accusing the military and the government of beating, drugging, and abusing some detainees under former President Bush. The allegations are disturbing – and go much further than anything documented in memos released so far.
Government documents show 28 CIA detainees were subjected to harsh interrogation techniques. But a military attorney for one detainee who was freed from Guantanamo told us in her first on-camera interview in the U.S. She believes there may be more.
Warning: Interview contains graphic language
Related: Watch the FULL interview
Cut your prescription drug costs
From CNN Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis
Whether you're insured or not, the cost of prescription drugs is a serious problem. In a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, it was found that nearly 30 percent of adults say they hadn't filled a prescription because of the cost and about a quarter of people polled had split pills in two or skipped doses to make the medicine last longer. But there are ways that you can slash your prices. Some stores have discount pharmacy services.
For example, Kmart pharmacies have a 90 day generics program for $15, available anywhere in the country where there's a Kmart pharmacy.
Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's pharmacies often have competitive prices and membership is not required to use the pharmacy services.
And don't forget that the internet is a great tool for comparing prices.
Compare RX costs
One word of caution here: beware of fly-by-night sites, where your risk of getting counterfeit or tainted drugs rises. Look for sites that carry the "VIPPS" seal – it stands for verified internet pharmacy practice site -and is awarded by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
Report: Biblical passages quoted in secret Bush war memos
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/19/intv.draper.art.jpg caption="Robert Draper broke the story about intelligence reports for the June 26th issue of GQ magazine."]
In the days after the attacks of September 11th, then-President George W. Bush raised eyebrows when he referred to the war on terror as a “crusade.” Today we are getting our first look at some top-secret briefings on the Iraq War.
According to GQ magazine, these classified documents included biblical passages on the cover pages. It claims former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld delivered them by hand to the White House each morning.
Robert Draper is a correspondent for GQ. He broke this story about the intelligence reports for the June 26th issue of GQ, which is on newsstands next week. He spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Tuesday.
Kiran Chetry: How were you able to get your hands on these classified documents?
Robert Draper: I can't tell you, but they were provided to me by a government official who did not have a specific bone to pick with Secretary Rumsfeld, wasn't a disgruntled employee, wasn’t marginalized by him or anything like that.
Chetry: These were given to just a select group of people and some in your reporting were quite surprised and troubled by the biblical passages on the cover sheets. These were top-secret documents known as the “Worldwide Intelligence Update.” You have some of them in the magazine:
On April 1, 2003 – From Proverbs: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.”
On April 8, 2003 – From Isaiah: “Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.” This phrase is accompanied by pictures of tanks rolling into Baghdad.
On April 10, 2003 – From Psalms: “Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him.”
Chetry: You say they were often delivered by Rumsfeld himself. How were they received by the president and those around him?
Draper: We don't know. The president would receive them every morning. Secretary Rumsfeld would see them at a 7:30am briefing. He would then bring them over to the Oval Office. Difficult to say how the president reacted, but given the context as you've described it… what had happened after 9/11 with the president referring to the war against terror as a crusade, it was a sensitive manner, a number of people within the Pentagon were quite concerned if something like this leaked out in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq or thereafter that it would be received quite poorly in the Muslim and Arab world.
About this Show
Welcome to the American Morning blog where you can get daily news updates from American Morning's reporters and producers. Join us for "the most news in the morning," weekdays from 6-9 a.m. ET, only on CNN.
On Twitter
