Obama unveils Gitmo closure plan
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PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday proposed to “once and for all” close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer remaining detainees to a facility in the United States, saying that despite significant political hurdles and congressional opposition he is making one last effort to shutter the controversial facility.
“I don’t want to pass this problem on the next president, whoever it is. Are we going to let this linger on for another 15 years?” he said, in an appearance at the White House. “Keeping this facility open is contrary to our values. It undermines our standing in the world. It is viewed as a stain on our broader record of upholding the highest standards of rule of law.”
Obama’s proposal ducks the thorny question of where the new facility would be located and whether Obama could complete the closure before he leaves office.
The plan, sought by Congress, makes a financial argument for closing the controversial detention center. US officials say it calls for up to US$475 million in construction costs that would ultimately be offset by as much as US$180 million per year in operating cost savings.
The proposal is part of Obama’s last effort to make good on his unfulfilled 2008 campaign vow to close Guantanamo and persuade lawmakers to allow the Defense Department to move nearly 60 detainees to the US. But with few specifics, the proposal may only further antagonize lawmakers who have repeatedly passed legislation banning any effort to move detainees to the US.
Representative Mac Thornberry, chairman of House Armed Services Committee, has said his panel would hold a hearing on a closure plan. But he sent a letter to Obama warning that Congress has made clear what details must be included in any plan and that anything less than that would be unacceptable.
US officials say the plan considers, but does not name, 13 different locations in the US, including seven existing prison facilities in Colorado, South Carolina and Kansas.
There are currently 91 detainees at Guantanamo, 35 of whom are expected to be moved out by this summer. The rest are either facing trial by military commission or have been determined to be too dangerous to release but are not facing charges.
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