Fox News Host Has Solution To Gitmo Detainee Problem: ‘Just Kill Them All’

Kimberly Guilfoyle with Willie Robertson (image from Guilfoyle's Facebook)
Kimberly Guilfoyle with Willie Robertson (image from Guilfoyle’s Facebook)

We’ve learned not to expect much from Fox News Channel. But every once in a while, a host on the fair and balanced network says something that crosses the line from garden-variety wingnuttery into a total lack of decency or humanity. Well, one of those instances happened on Friday. A host on “The Five” had an outrageous proposal for closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, where some terrorism suspects are still being held. She thinks we should just execute them all.

The gang on “The Five” was discussing President Obama’s statement that shuttering Gitmo was part of a larger counterterrorism strategy. Not surprisingly, they mostly panned it. After Eric Bolling sarcastically asked if “we’ve just solved the terror problem,” Kimberly Guilfoyle hit the ceiling. As far as she was concerned, Obama’s approach to fighting terror is so bad that “he’s got to repeat the year, he’s so confused.”

When Bolling and Dana Perino mentioned that 17 percent of detainees released from Gitmo return to the battlefield, Geraldo Rivera–who was sitting in for Juan Williams as the lone liberal host on the panel–suggested that they be sent to ADX Florence. However, according to Perino, Coloradoans don’t want the detainees there. Rivera pointed out that for all intents and purposes, the Constitution doesn’t exist on Gitmo. Rivera was hooted down for this moment of sanity. Perino wondered why terrorists should have any rights at all. So did Greg Gutfeld, who claimed that we were doing the world a favor since no other country wants to take in any detainees.

So far, this was standard-issue Fox News lunacy. But then Guilfoyle took it to another level. When Gutfeld wondered how Gitmo could be a recruitment tool, Guilfoyle yelled:

“I agree! I agree! Just kill them all and close Gitmo, that’s fine. They don’t have to come here, they don’t have to stay there.”

When Bolling harrumphed about the detainees would be entitled to the basic rights of those accused of crime if they were ever brought here, Guilfoyle doubled down on her outrageous proposal.

“He is closing Gitmo because he doesn’t like the idea of it. It doesn’t sit comfortably. Not because it’s a violation of habeas corpus or because they’re entitled to provisions of the Constitution of the United States of America. They are enemy combatants. They are not entitled. I agree–kill ’em!”

Guilfoyle, for those who don’t know, was married to Gavin Newsom for much of his first term as mayor of San Francisco. When I first saw this screed, my first thought was, “Man, her morph was total–and opportunistic as all hell.” But it goes well beyond that. There’s a name for what Guilfoyle is proposing–a war crime. The detainees do not have the same rights as prisoners of war, since by any definition they are unlawful combatants. However, under the Fourth Geneva Convention, unlawful combatants must still be treated humanely if captured. But you shouldn’t need a treaty to tell you that killing a prisoner without trial is inhumane and illegal.

What makes this particularly outrageous is that Guilfoyle is a former prosecutor. You would think that any lawyer worth her salt would know that killing a prisoner without trial is unacceptable. Apparently not. Almost as outrageous is that apart from Rivera, no one called out Guilfoyle for her barbaric and criminal suggestion.

It’s not the first time that Fox News or a Fox News host has engaged in behavior that breaches  earlier this year, its official Twitter account trashed Jimmy Carter just hours after he announced that he had cancer. This is almost as outrageous. There are certain instances where there is no other side–and this is one of them. Rivera, Williams, Alan Colmes, and other prominent liberal commentators on Fox News should resign unless Guilfoyle is fired. If Fox News keeps this host on its payroll, it will be tacitly giving succor to calls for this nation to commit war crimes.

Tell Guilfoyle what you think of her outrageous idea on Twitter @kimguilfoyle. You can also let her have it on “The Five”‘s Facebook and Twitter feeds. But please, be sure to be civil.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.