Wednesday, July 22, 2015

White House Still Determined To Close Guantanamo Prison

A guard tower of Camp Delta is seen at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba September 4, 2007. Reuters/Joe Skipper

New York Times: Obama’s Plan for Guantánamo Is Seen Faltering

WASHINGTON — President Obama is enjoying a winning streak lately, with the Supreme Court reaffirming his signature health care law and Iran agreeing to curbs on its nuclear program. But one longstanding goal continues to bedevil him: closing the wartime prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The administration’s fitful effort to shut down the prison is collapsing again. Ashton B. Carter, in his first six months as defense secretary, has yet to make a decision on any newly proposed deals to transfer individual detainees. His delay, which echoes a pattern last year by his predecessor, Chuck Hagel, is generating mounting concern in the White House and State Department, officials say.

Last week, Mr. Obama’s national security adviser, Susan E. Rice, convened a cabinet-level “principals committee” meeting on how to close the prison before the president leaves office in 18 months. At that meeting, Mr. Carter was presented with an unsigned National Security Council memo stating that he would have 30 days to make decisions on newly proposed transfers, according to several officials familiar with the internal deliberations.

Update: White House says it is drafting plan to close Guantanamo -- Reuters

WNU Editor: Another example where the wishes and laws of the U.S. Congress will not be respected by this White House.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

If you transfer a jihadi to an American prison you make the nearby community a target for a Beslan style operation.

You also put the prison guards at risk for threats.

You also make the ACLU very happy. At which point the ACLU will join Planned Parenthood.

B.Poster said...

Aizino,

Everything you write on this is spot on. This is why the prison has not been closed yet. Unfortunately the US is going to be forced to close this prison sooner rather than later. Right or wring the world simply will not allow America to keep this prison open and will at some point enact severe punishments on American for this.

While you and I and a certain number of Americans can understand the reason for this prison and the need for it, the world sets a different standard for America than it does for other countries for a variety of reasons that are beyond this post. Since we are going to be forced to close the prison, it is probably going to be best for us to try and plan this and do it on terms that minimize the risk to our national defense.