FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 2, 2009

Contact:
Rob Damschen
Rob@militaryfamiliesunited.org
(202) 510-5304

Washington, DC – Kirk Lippold, the former Commander of the USS Cole and the Senior Military Fellow at Military Families United (MFU), the nation’s leading military family and national security advocacy organization, released the following statement concerning the Obama Administration’s Budget for 2011 and the funds requested for the transferring detainees to the United States and trying detainees civilian courts.

“In the ongoing political drive to bring terrorists to the United States, the Obama Administration persists in trying to present a fait accompli to the Congress and the American people. President Obama has submitted a budget request that will result in detainees being transferred to the United States while spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars for a prison facility in Illinois; all without explaining to anyone what his plan is for the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Neither the President nor his Attorney General have answered critical questions about the habeas rights of detainees held indefinitely in the United States, or their access to classified information during trials or military commissions.

Military Families United applauds those Members of Congress who are introducing a bill to strip out and withhold these funds from the President’s budget. Until the President provides Congress and the American people with a clear plan and policy for detainees and Guantanamo Bay, he should not be allowed to bring terrorists into our country.”

CDR Kirk S. Lippold, USN (Ret.) was the Commanding Officer of USS Cole when it was attacked by al Qaeda terrorists in October 2000. CDR Lippold, who served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff crafting detainee policy in the initial stages of the war on terror, met with the President in February and with DOJ in June to discuss the closure of Guantanamo Bay.

*Note – To schedule an interview with military families or leading defense experts please contact Rob@militaryfamiliesunited.org or call 202-510-5304.

About Military Families United

Military Families United (MFU) serves as the nation’s leading military family advocacy organization, representing the interests and values of those who sacrifice for our security and our freedom: America’s troops and their families. MFU gives America’s military families a voice in the national conversation on military, national security and other public policy issues through our outreach to media, government, and the general public. We seek to communicate the truth about our brave men and women in uniform and their mission to protect our freedom.