“It’s counterproductive to our fight against terrorists because they use it as propaganda in their efforts to recruit”, said President Barak Obama.
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“We recognize that this is going to be a challenge”, he said.
How the plan works (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Obama announcing his plan.
Republican leaders in Congress showed no interest in having that conversation.
Speaking at a press conference in the White House, Obama said for the 91 detainees now held in Guantanamo Bay, some would be transferred and his administration would review the threat posed by detainees who were not eligible for transfers and identify those eligible for military trials.
“It is against the law – and it will stay against the law”, Ryan said. He specializes in legal issues related to Guantanamo, and says the plan Obama put forth today is just a retread of steps long proposed and well within the president’s authority to implement.
President Obama unveiled his proposal to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
It’s not clear whether that chance ever existed. Obama claimed that closing the facility would “close a chapter in [the US’] history”.
Mr. Obama presented the plan to the Congress today.
Approval from Congress may be the only way the White House can fulfill Obama’s wish to close the prison.
Instead, the proposal reflects the administration’s strategy of shrinking the population, hoping the cost of housing the diminished population would ultimately make closure inevitable.
“Transferring detainees to the U.S.is illegal, and it’s rejected by Coloradans, top Colorado law enforcement officials, and Americans across the country”, said Gardner on Tuesday in a statement.
Only briefly did the president – who’s leaving office in less than 11 months – focus on the only reason for closing the detention center that should matter.
The plan will include costs for upgrading USA facilities and housing the inmates there, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The administration has looked at the federal Supermax prison facility in Florence as one possible location for detainees because it already houses several terrorists convicted in USA courts. The plan doesn’t recommend a preferred site.
“We’re keeping Guantanamo, forever”, Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican running for president, said at a February 16 rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet says he agrees that Guantanamo should be closed, but he says it’s holding military prisoners who should be sent to a military prison.
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WHY NOT? Opponents say changing the detention center’s ZIP code won’t change the nature of the suspects’ detention and brings those security concerns to the United States.
