IN A NUTSHELL: MUST READ
Obama Wants To Say GTFO To Gitmo Calling the prison “contrary to our values,” President Obama announced his official plan for shutting down Guantanamo Bay. While the idea once held bipartisan support — and was even endorsed by former President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain — Congress is expected to serve as a massive roadblock to action, per usual. Congressional Republicans immediately denounced the idea as illegal and dangerous, citing a statute that bans the military from bringing detainees to the United States.
What does this mean? Ah, Congress. The place where dreams (and bills and any sort of action) go to die. It appears Gitmo’s fate is in its hands. The Obama administration’s nine-page plan seeks to lift the restrictions that keep prisoners from a US transfer and entices lawmakers by claiming the move will save money. Still, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Congress has been unequivocal and that the plan changes nothing.
SATIRICAL READ: Obama To Send Congress To Guantanamo
China: Radar? What Radar? You Mean These Little Things? The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report suggesting that China is building radar facilities on disputed islets in the South China Sea. The facilities are really far from China and validate fears that China’s interests aren’t exactly benign. Last week it emerged that China had deployed surface-to-air missiles in the region, as well (fun).
The slow motion buildup is prompting other countries in the neighborhood to pursue their own military buildups. Vietnam (often remembered in the States as an ally of China) is currently undergoing its “greatest military buildup in decades.” Forget ISIS, the South China Sea might just be the new darling of the world’s hotspots. | 
