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Graham: White House Bailed on Gitmo Talks

Admin Says It's Open to Further Talks

By Drew Nelles, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 20, 2010 10:07 AM CDT

(Newser) – There was a time when the White House and Sen. Lindsey Graham seemed close to striking a bipartisan deal on closing Guantanamo Bay and other national security issues, but in May those talks “went completely dead,” Graham tells Politico. “They could never quite pull the trigger,” he adds, suggesting that the administration was unwilling to take on such a heavy issue in an election year.

The White House vaguely hints that “a window of opportunity did not materialize” during the discussions and insists that the President remains open to negotiations. But observers say that Democrats were leery of putting forward several pieces of individual national-security legislation, each of which would have been vulnerable to GOP attacks, and that Graham’s attacks on health care reform cost him the trust of the administration.

President-elect Barack Obama, second from right, meets with, from left, Sen. Lindsey Graham Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and White House Chief of Staff-designate Rahm Emanuel, Monday, Nov. 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., listens during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Graham: White House Bailed on Gitmo Talks

Admin Says It's Open to Further Talks

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national security • War on Terror • Barack Obama • White House • Guantanamo Bay • Lindsey Graham • Election 2010 • Guantanamo closure

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