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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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September 26th,
2009 - Guantanamo Prison Not Likely to Close in January, Officials Say |
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Guantanamo Prison Not Likely
to Close in January, Officials Say By Ed Henry & Elise Labott Cable Network News September 26, 2009 Washington - The U.S.
military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is unlikely to close by the Obama
administration's deadline of January 2010, two senior administration
officials said late Friday. They cited legal
complications for the delay, but said they were still optimistic about
shutting the detention facility for terrorism suspects soon. The announcement represents
a blow to the president, who signed an executive order and set the deadline
with great fanfare during his first week in office. During a signing ceremony at
the White House on January 22, Obama reaffirmed his inauguration pledge that
the United States does not have "to continue with a false choice between
our safety and our ideals." The president said he was
issuing the order to close the prison camp in order to "restore the
standards of due process and the core constitutional values that have made
this country great even in the midst of war, even in dealing with terrorism." The delay may provide fodder
for Republicans such as former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has argued
that shutting the Guantanamo prison would make the United States less safe.
He said Obama should have had a detailed plan in place before signing the
order. "Even White House
officials are now acknowledging that there is still no alternative that will
keep Americans as safe as housing detainees at that secure facility off our
shores," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said in a
written statement. "Americans and a
bipartisan majority in Congress will continue to reject any effort to close
Guantanamo until there is a plan that keeps Americans as safe or safer than
keeping detainees in the secure detention center," McConnell's statement
said. At its peak, the Guantanamo
prison population exceeded 750, all men. More than 500 have been released,
most into the custody of other countries. The senior administration
officials insisted the White House is making progress in finding third-party
countries to accept the remaining detainees. Approximately 2,200 staff
members work there, from all branches of the U.S. military plus civilian
employees. External link: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/26/cuba.guantanamo/ |