White House Finalizing Plan To Close Guantanamo
Shutting the detention facility has long been a priority for the president.
The Obama administration is nearing completion of a plan to close the
U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that it will then send to
Congress, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.
The plan will shutter the facility in a safe and responsible way, Earnest told reporters on Wednesday.
President Barack Obama, who leaves office in less than 18 months, has
battled for years with lawmakers over his pledge to close Guantanamo by
bringing to trial some detainees and holding others in the U.S. as
prisoners of war, while arranging to send the least dangerous ones home
or to third countries.
In recent months, the administration has sent several detainees from
Guantanamo to countries including Oman and Qatar, and the U.S. is
seeking additional options for transfering more prisoners, Earnest said
at the White House.
President George W. Bush began using the detention facility in Cuba
to hold suspected and accused terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks on the U.S. Obama campaigned for president with a
promise to close Guantanamo, saying it attracted international criticism
of U.S. detention policies and interrogation practices.
U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that it will then send to
Congress, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.
The plan will shutter the facility in a safe and responsible way, Earnest told reporters on Wednesday.
President Barack Obama, who leaves office in less than 18 months, has
battled for years with lawmakers over his pledge to close Guantanamo by
bringing to trial some detainees and holding others in the U.S. as
prisoners of war, while arranging to send the least dangerous ones home
or to third countries.
In recent months, the administration has sent several detainees from
Guantanamo to countries including Oman and Qatar, and the U.S. is
seeking additional options for transfering more prisoners, Earnest said
at the White House.
President George W. Bush began using the detention facility in Cuba
to hold suspected and accused terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks on the U.S. Obama campaigned for president with a
promise to close Guantanamo, saying it attracted international criticism
of U.S. detention policies and interrogation practices.
