As one of his first acts in office, President Barack Obama ordered the closure of American prison on Cuba, Guantanamo Bay and other prisons abroad used to hold terrorists. In response, Congressman Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania said he was more than willing to house Gitmo prisoners in his district.

Conservative bloggers responded with outrage. How can Murtha put the lives of his constituents at risk? They cannot possibly accept their Congressman’s plans, can they?

Unlike what these bloggers seem to believe, Murtha did say he would give the prisoners a nice home, a well-paid job and a dog. Rather, he said he is willing to put Gitmo prisoners in ‘high security prisons’ in his district. These prions are used to protect society from serial killers, serial rapists and psychopaths. These prisons are designed to ensure that prisoners remain where they are, are unable to escape, and unable to cause major trouble in the building itself. Put differently, there’s no way that terrorists can escape from these facilities.

The reason to lock these suspected terrorists (innocent until proven guilty was thrown overboard years ago for them) up in prisons outside of the U.S. was not because they could cause ‘no harm’ there or because America’s prisons aren’t secure. Rather, White House legal experts thought these suspects did not have the same rights in Guantanamo Bay as they would have if imprisoned in the U.S. itself. Courts decided different, however. It is logical that these terrorists are, therefore, moved to the U.S. where they can be brought to justice.

Although certainly no fan of Obama, his decision to close Guantanamo Bay – it will be closed completely one year from now – and prisons abroad used by the CIA to hold and interrogate suspected terrorists, is wise. America’s image abroad has been hurt tremendously by Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and all other prisons; America pretends to stand for certain rights but withholds them from its enemies making it look rather hypocritical. Even conservative Europeans, who generally favor the U.S., were aghast at the U.S. treatment of said suspects. Closing these prisons isn’t merely just, it is also an easy way to boost America’s image and popularity.