New defense secretary tried shut down Gitmo prison

Robert Gates, an Aggie, argued vehemently that the prison at Guantanamo Bay be shut down and the prisoners moved back to the U.S. to be tried here. Secretary of State Rice joined him in this effort. Their chief opponent? You guessed it. One Mr. Alberto "Judge" Gonzales, the embattled "People's Attorney" of the U.S.

Story is exclusive to NYTimes, but you can also read a cribbed version here on Reuters. A quote:

Mr. Gates’s arguments were rejected after Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and some other government lawyers expressed strong objections to moving detainees to the United States, a stance that was backed by the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, administration officials said. As Mr. Gates was making his case, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined him in urging that the detention facility be shut down.

Is the matter settled? Not according to one high ranking administration official: "'Let’s see what happens to Gonzales,' that official said, referring to speculation that Mr. Gonzales will be forced to step down, or at least is significantly weakened, because of the political uproar over the dismissal of United States attorneys. 'I suspect this one isn’t over yet.'"

It is amazing to me that there's anyone left who thinks that Gonzales should continue in his job. The guy is a hack who's next job should be in NYC, prosecuting people for using their iPods in crosswalks.