Before you get too excited about Gates' call to close Guantanamo

There's alot of excitement among its critics that new Sec Def Gates has argued for the closure of Guantanamo, but before we praise the man, perhaps we should take a look at what he really wants.

According to the AP, Gates does want to close Guantanamo, but he is asking Congress to find another means of achieving the same goals, incarcerating the detainees "forever, but (in a way) that doesn't get them involved in a judicial system where there is the potential of them being released."

Frankly, I don't know what the right answer is, but before we praise Gates, I think it's important to note that he's not really challenging the concept or the system. He just wants to paint over the Guantanamo sign for PR purposes.