Well, that certainly didn't take very long at all

It sure didn't take too long before President Obama and I have found ourselves on opposite sides of a serious issue, and I'm sure he's as surprised and upset over it as I am.

The source of our disagreement is the closing of the prisoner of war (POW) facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Now, in every war you capture prisoners, and when it's over, you let them go. That is the way it works. It isn't smart to put the enemy back on the battle field before the war is over.

Now unlike many people, I have never minded holding these guys at Gitmo because you have to keep them somewhere, and since I spent some time on Gitmo (long before 9/11) I knew it was where I wanted my country's enemies to be, because it sucks there. It's hot and miserable most of the time, that is when it isn't hot, miserable and raining, there are scorpions, real big snakes and not-so-little critters called Banana Rats that can break in to a Brinks truck. They are sort of like an opossum, but not as nice. I'm sure it's the heat. Did I mention how hot it is?

So like I said, I don't mind them being there.

So with the President making the decision to close the facility, I am wondering, as are many others, 'what are you going to do with them, Mr. President? I mean really, you may not like that they are there, but if you release them, which you shouldn't, where will you put them?'

Aren't law enforcement officials everywhere always complaining that they don't have room for good old homegrown American criminals and illegal aliens in the existing facilities we have?

Look, I am willing to accept that we have to give these guys due process. Fine. Do it by military tribunal. It was done in this country during the War of Northern Aggression and, by God; if it was good enough for the Yankees it's good enough for the Taliban.

Aside from the overcrowding problem in most American prisons, how will they be handled? Will they be segregated or placed in general population? I would hate to be the corrections officer who had to face that daily.

Not to mention putting these guys in with other prisoners is offering them a ready-made recruiting station.

How many times have you heard that prisoners are susceptible to becoming part of a gang or a cult or a religion because, when locked up, these desperate people are looking for inclusion? Being a loner in jail can be problematic.

Put these committed terrorists in with thugs and degenerates and they will begin to recruit. The people with nothing to lose are the target recruits. Our prisons are full of people who feel they have nothing to lose. Does anybody else think this could, and I specify could, just maybe be a bad idea?

So then, let's put them in a military prison, guarded by military professionals, but isn't that one of the major complaints by some, that the prisoners are not being treated well because they are guarded by military personnel?

Okay, I have it. Let's build a new facility special just for them. We could put it in some remote place like the mountains of North Carolina. It would bring jobs and an industry to an area that needs both. The tax breaks that could be obtained would more than likely reach the obscene level and joy of joys, Gitmo would be a memory.

Sound crazy that they would choose some place like the High Country to build a place like that? Do you think they are going to put them some place lie L.A. or D.C.? Oh no, when they bring them to the states it will be someplace like here or the Black Hills or the Everglades. Some community is going to have to deal with this.

Now, I don't think they are going to mass up and take control of the prison and start a homicide-bombing spree. But why risk it?

Then again, the government could go for refurbishing a remote spot like Alcatraz Island. In the year they have before the president closes the gates in Cuba, they could get it refit to house them. They would be there for all to observe their care and treatment, and nobody escapes the Rock.

But given the age of the facility, it might be best to look at other possible sites in the 48 and our territories for a suitable location. We do have the Virgin Islands, but they might think they had died, and then there is Puerto Rico, but since we won't let them become the 52nd state, that might not be fair.

Hey, I've got it!

There is this little place just off the coast of Florida. It has good seclusion, built-in security and ready-made facilities that would fit the needs perfectly.

It's called Guantanamo Bay, Cuba!

Mr. President, I get that you want them treated humanely and that gets no argument. But these people want to hurt the people you, with little help from the Chief Justice, swore to protect against foreign enemies.

Put bureaucrats and ACLU lawyers in charge of the place. Pull out military guards and put U.S. Prison Service guards in their place, the majority of them are former military anyway. But leave them off the continent, please.

Some day we will have to release the ones that are not convicted. Until then, they are prisoners because they took up arms against America and we don't shoot those who surrender. How do I know they surrendered? They are still breathing.

This whole enemy combatant/prisoner of war issue should be hard to solve, so that the next time someone thinks that it is a good idea (and they will) the idea gets shot down.

For now, I hope that another alternative to bringing them here or letting them go is found within the next year. I just bet the president does, too. Then he can get going on those important things like doing sit-down interviews with foreign news services. His first as president was with Dubai-based, Al-Arabiya, an Arabic satellite TV news network. While the idea of talking to the Middle East is good, the snub to U.S. News organizations can't be ignored. Good luck with that.