Barbara Comstock released the following statement today:

“I applaud Rep. Frank Wolf and our Republican Virginia delegation, for their efforts to prevent Northern Virginia from being home to Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainees. I am pleased that this bill would cut off funding for any attempts to bring these detainees to Virginia and it is apparent that there is strong support for such efforts. Congressman Wolf has been dogged in trying to get answers about recent reports that terrorists such as the 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheik Mohammed or Abu Zubaydah, Al Qaeda's operations chief, may be moved to Alexandria, Virginia. Congressman Wolf has been equally insistent on answers about reports of the possibility that 17 Uyghur detainees from Guantanamo Bay may actually be released into the civilian population in McLean, Virginia of all places. Rep. Wolf and others have simply asked for basic questions to be answered and I join them in this effort and would hope it would be a bipartisan sentiment.

“The Uyghurs detained in Guantanamo are reported to have been trained at terrorist camps and they are members or associates of the Eastern Turkistan Islmaic Movement (ETIM), a designated terrorist group affiliated with al Qaeda, as designated by both the U.S. government and the United Nations. As Rep. Wolf observes, ‘Whether their intended victims were Chinese or Americans, a trained terrorist is a terrorist.’ Why can’t the information about them be declassified?

“Terrorism training has been a staple of virtually every terrorist attack against the United States since the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993 by radicals who had been training in the New York area for four years. For this reason, federal immigration law was amended after 9/11 to provide that aliens who either are members of terrorist organizations or have received terrorism training may not be admitted into the United States. It is only common sense that we should not want trained terrorists living among us. But, it is also against the law to permit them to enter the United States. So where are the voices of our Governor or local representatives? One can only hope that the sentiment expressed by Congressman Jim Moran (D-Va. 8^th) that bringing the detainees to Alexandria demonstrates ‘resolve for a higher purpose’ would be rejected by our local state and federal delegation.

“As a former senior Justice Department official, I also know how dangerous it can be for trials to be held within our borders for terrorists. I have worked and spoken with prosecutors and judges who were involved in these volatile terrorist trials. They are put under enormous pressures and threats in these situations, not to mention the pressures this would bring to the entire surrounding community.

“In 2006, when the sentencing trial for 9-11 attack participant, Zacarias Moussaoui, was held in Alexandria, the neighborhood turned ‘into a virtual encampment, with heavily armed agents, rooftop snipers, bomb-sniffing dogs, blocked streets, identification checks and a fleet of television satellite trucks,’ as reported by the Washington Post. (Markon, Jerry. ‘Security Worries in the Suburbs,’ The Washington Post, 3/25/09.)  This obviously harms local businesses and millions of dollars in costs that strain existing budgets. In these tough economic times, Northern Virginians don’t need this added burden as well as this national security threat.  Any plans to move terrorists to Virginia should end now.

If this federal legislation is not passed, and I am fortunate to be elected delegate from the 34^th District, I would make every legal effort possible as a Member of the House of Delegates to prevent any such transfers or releases to Virginia from occurring.”