Senators and congressman have insisted they won't accept terrorist suspects on American soil and Europe is resisting President Barack Obama's overtures. But the townsfolk of Hardin, Montana (population: 3,384) are made of tougher stuff.Outside the brand new prison, the razor wire glinted in the sun as Greg Smith, Hardin's economic development director, unlocked the door to the state-of-the-art facility, which has lain empty since it was completed two years ago. "This is a dying town," he said. "Businesses here are struggling like there's no tomorrow. But here is a solution that would help us, help the United States and help the world. It's a long shot but we have to try."
Shuttered shop fronts in Hardin, on the edge of the Crow Indian Reservation a few dusty miles from the Little Bighorn Battlefield, where Lt Col George Custer made his last stand in 1876, tell the tale. Even the town's dollar store is about to close.