Andrea Mitchell Worries Paris Attack May Hamper Obama Effort to Close Guantanamo

During her Friday show on MSNBC, amid live coverage of French authorities killing multiple terror suspects following dual hostage standoffs, host Andrea Mitchell lamented the fact that President Obama's political agenda may be setback by the attacks in Paris. Talking to Maine Senator Angus King, she fretted: "Do you think that this terror incident will in any way slow down the President's intention to continue drawing down from Guantanamo and to eventually close that facility, if possible?"

The liberal-leaning independent replied: "You know, Guantanamo, I was down there about a month ago, and it is a recruiting tool for these people. There's no doubt about that."

In an earlier segment on the show, Mitchell raised the issue with Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd:  "...the Guantanamo closures and trying to send some of these detainees who have been on a list to go back to Yemen, trying to get Congress to lift the restrictions and get them out of there because of the President's commitment to try to close Guantanamo....the State Department official in charge of Guantanamo quitting in some frustration over the – how slow the progress is."

Todd promoted that the official in question, Cliff Sloan, would be "an exclusive guest this Sunday on Meet the Press."

He then noted objections to closing the prison:

But it goes – look, one of the three gunmen – one of the three gunman [in Paris] was radicalized in prison. Obviously that's always been one of the ways that some have pushed back on President Obama and the administration, saying, "Hey, don't release, these guys could be more radicalized than you realize."

And the return to action, the return to the war is anywhere from 18 to 30% depending on the number you believe. They know for sure somewhere between 15 and 18%. And they are worried about another 10% of these released detainees do end up going back to the fight.

Here are excerpts of the two January 9 segments:

12:22 PM ET

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ANDREA MITCHELL: Let me ask you about some domestic politics here which relate directly. I was interviewing [Senator] John Barrasso [R-WY] the other day and he immediately said, "Why would the President now want to take money away from Homeland Security and take $40 million and put it in his immigration proposal?" Trying to link these things. The other thing is-

CHUCK TODD: By the way, I think the national security [officials] are going to go the other way and link it.

MITCHELL: Exactly. And the other point was the Guantanamo closures and trying to send some of these detainees who have been on a list to go back to Yemen, trying to get Congress to lift the restrictions and get them out of there because of the President's commitment to try to close Guantanamo. We just saw the envoy – the State Department official in charge of Guantanamo quitting in some frustration over the – how slow the progress is.

TODD: By the way, Cliff Sloan, an exclusive guest this Sunday on Meet the Press.

MITCHELL: Well, thank you, you're right on point.

TODD: Very well – very good point there. We're going to talk about this issue.

But it goes – look, one of the three gunmen – one of the three gunman was radicalized in prison. Obviously that's always been one of the ways that some have pushed back on President Obama and the administration, saying, "Hey, don't release, these guys could be more radicalized than you realize."

And the return to action, the return to the war is anywhere from 18 to 30% depending on the number you believe. They know for sure somewhere between 15 and 18%. And they are worried about another 10% of these released detainees do end up going back to the fight.

But does that slow it down? We've seen American public opinion on incidents like this, the shift between security and freedom, the pendulum on something like this right now will end up leaning to security over some freedoms.

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12:36 PM ET

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MITCHELL: And do you think that this terror incident will in any way slow down the President's intention to continue drawing down from Guantanamo and to eventually close that facility, if possible?

SEN. ANGUS KING [I-ME]: Well, I think you've got to be thinking about that. You know, Guantanamo, I was down there about a month ago, and it is a recruiting tool for these people. There's no doubt about that. On the other hand, it's a secure facility. It's very expensive, Andrea. It's the most expensive prison in the world by a factor of about a hundred.

But you know, you can call it either way. As you were discussing, some percentage of these people will end up back on the battlefield. On the other hand, if it's a recruiting tool that brings in ten times that number, that's the kind of decision that the President and the Congress have to weigh.

I'm one that – I frankly came away from my visit to Guantanamo without a firm, "Yes, we absolutely have to close it" or "Yes, we absolutely have to keep it open." It's one of those things where the more you know, the more difficult the decision becomes.

MITCHELL: Thank you so much. Senator Angus King from the Intelligence Committee. Appreciate it so much.

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