Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer compared National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair with children's television icon Mr. Rogers, after Blair told reporters at a press conference that the Obama administration was considering bringing some Guantanamo detainees back to the U.S. after they are released.
"The unforgettable Mr. Rogers encouraging us to welcome folks to the neighborhood, the intelligence chief for the Obama administration apparently taking that advice to heart," Hemmer said. "Dennis Blair, last week, suggesting we should take some of the detainees out of Gitmo, move to the U.S., and give them public assistance 'to start a new life.' Mr. Blair says the administration would conduct a thorough review of each case coming out of Gitmo and calls the idea a work in progress."
Blair was referring to detainees who have been cleared, but cannot return to their home countries for fear of abuse or torture, specifically a group of 17 Chinese Muslim separatists who officials have been unable to release to China or another country, according to the Associated Press.
Blair said the U.S. government is building dossiers on each of the prisoners at Guantanamo and is still developing the process that will determine what happens to them. Some may face criminal trials in the U.S. civilian courts and be imprisoned in U.S. jails. Others will be remanded to their home governments for continued jailing or potential rehabilitation.