“Current law prohibits the use of funds to “transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release” of detainees from Guantanamo Bay to or within the United States and prohibits the construction, modification, or acquisition of any facility in the United States to house any Guantanamo detainee”, the January 15 letter from Army Lt. Gen. William Mayville said.
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“When I first ran for president, it was widely recognized the facility needed to close”, Obama said.
The plan says a United States facility would save money over time.
GWEN IFILL: At its peak in 2003, Guantanamo held 680 detainees.
That’s because two bills recently signed by Obama – the defense authorization and defense appropriations bills – contained provisions barring the transfer of Guantanamo detainees into the U.S.
President Obama’s move to close Gitmo isn’t new, he’s been promising to do so for at least seven years.
35 will be transferred to foreign countries: The Obama administration is empowered to transfer prisoners to another country, where they will be monitored, provided the Department of Defense and other relevant agencies deem it safe. He added that not only Republicans but also many in Obama’s own Democratic Party, opposed detainee transfers to US soil. Noting that neither he nor Vice President Joe Biden are currently running for office, the president said the administration is now finally able to move on closing the facility.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: My predecessor, President Bush, to his credit, said he wanted to close it. It was one of the few things that I and my Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, agreed on.
“Regardless of today’s futile proposal, transferring detainees to the U.S.is illegal and it’s rejected by Coloradans, top Colorado law enforcement officials and Americans across the country”, Gardner said in a statement. He did not specify which prisons, but one possibility is the federal Supermax near Canon City. They say the plan doesn’t recommend a preferred site and the cost estimates are meant to provide a starting point for a conversation with Congress.
Both Sanders and Clinton have raised questions about just what happens to the detainees held there in the past, their Senate records show.
“I remain committed to blocking the transfer of Guantanamo detainees anywhere in the United States, especially Fort Leavenworth”, Sen.
With 10 of the remaining 91 detainees expected to undergo military tribunals, that leaves another 47 detainees who could be approved by an interagency review board to be sent home or to a third country. “The politics of this are tough”, Obama said.
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Congress put restrictions on closing Guantanamo Bay for a number of reasons, ranging from the ideological (some believe that suspected terrorists are a special kind of threat who really ought to be detained indefinitely) to the political (bringing Guantanamo inmates into the USA is unpopular).
