As Kansans, nothing is more important to us than the safety and security of our families and communities. Recently, the well being of all in our state has been put in danger by the wildly ridiculous notion that Fort Leavenworth would be an ideal home for the terrorist detainees currently at Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo).

President Obama has announced his intention to close the detention center at Gitmo. The Department of Defense must now determine what to do with the detainees. I have been to Gitmo and can attest that these are the most dangerous terrorists in the world.

Kansans should know that Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), Congressman Jerry Moran (R-KS) and I will work with local officials, with our friends across the aisle and across the state line to make sure this does not happen. We will lead tours of the Fort. We will write letters. We will use all legislative options. We will not let this happen.

Here is the case we will continue to make:

The detention of dangerous enemy combatants captured in the War on Terror will attract world-wide attention to whatever locations are chosen for imprisonment. We must remember that many of the associates of these detainees and their fellow combatants have proved they are willing to become human bombs in targets such as schools, hospitals, churches and other vulnerable public places. Obviously, detention and notoriety pose a great threat to the safety of families and children who reside in the communities in and around Fort Leavenworth.

Fort Leavenworth, known as the Intellectual Center of Army, is the crown jewel of Army education. We are extremely proud of their work. After all, educating our nation’s next generation of leaders, and our allied military leaders from across the globe, will be vital as we continue to face new extremist enemies and their radical threats.

Officers from Middle and Far Eastern countries have indicated they will be forbidden from attending the Command and General Staff College should detainees be placed at Leavenworth. This situation would devastate critical allied relationships and knowledge regarding the gravest threats facing our nation today. Our military and our nation cannot afford to lose these learning opportunities.

As part of the Base Re-alignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission, the United States Disciplinary Barracks (USDB) at Fort Leavenworth will be full by 2011. The only option, then, for those who would like to put detainees there, would be to house them next to US military prisoners, which is wholly unacceptable, or to move all the military prisoners somewhere else, to a facility that will not exist.

What is more, if this last option was pursued, terrorist detainees could not just move right in to the facility. In order to ensure secure and humane conditions, such as exist at Guantanamo Bay, entire new facilities would have to be built. This would include, but would not be limited to, self-contained hospitals, food services, courthouses, and even athletic facilities. After all, there is volleyball at Gitmo!

While you may not care if these terrorist detainees have recreational outlets, you definitely don’t want them in the hospital being treated next door to your parent or child, which is what could happen if they were simply shipped to Ft. Leavenworth.

To the costs of building a new facility for military prisoners and a new one for terrorist detainees, add the expense of housing and taking care of thousands of Military Police and their families. It is not unreasonable to think this could total $1 billion.

So here’s our proposition: To our colleagues who think it’s great to move Gitmo, we say, put it in your own backyard. Let them fly out of your airports, or travel on your roads. We can assure you, you’ll have the full support of the entire Kansas congressional delegation.