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**Written by Doug Powers

Yeah, I know what you’re probably thinking… “Gitmo’s still open?”

From the Washington Post:

The Pentagon is considering allowing the families of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to visit them, an unprecedented step to ease the isolation of inmates who in some cases have been held at the U.S. facility for close to a decade, according to congressional aides.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which monitors conditions at the military prison in Cuba and facilitates videoconferences between detainees and their families, has been in serious discussions with the Pentagon about a visitation program, the aides said.

This idea isn’t as radical as when someone proposed Gitmo detainees be allowed conjugal visits from Code Pink, but it certainly has its potential security hazards.

Rep. Peter King wrote a letter to SecDef Gates and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs asking for an explanation.

Another question, provided the WaPo’s report is accurate, is simply where these family members would be kept. After all, there isn’t a Motel 6 down the road from Gitmo:

Because Guantanamo is off-shore, families would not necessarily need to enter the mainland United States to reach the prison, and the visits could be staged from a neighboring country willing to allow the families to move into and out of the base.

Good luck finding a country willing to do that. If one is found, it wouldn’t happen without a “little somethin’ for your trouble” expense on the part of the US. On the flip side, be wary of any country way too agreeable.

It’s a bad idea all the way around.

(h/t Ed Morrissey)

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe