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Obama to release plan to close Guantanamo Bay
| USA TODAY | - |
WASHINGTON
- The long-awaited Pentagon report on closing the U.S. military prison
at Guantanamo Bay looked at 13 potential sites for transferring the
suspected terrorists, but does not propose any specific location, two
senior administration officials ...
Gregory Korte, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON —
The long-awaited Pentagon report on closing the U.S. military prison at
Guantanamo Bay looked at 13 potential sites for transferring the
suspected terrorists, but does not propose any specific location, two
senior administration officials said.
Obama will deliver a statement on the plan from the White House at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, setting up a last-year confrontation with Congress about a campaign promise he made eight years ago.
The report looked at existing facilities in South Carolina, Kansas and Colorado, as well as new facilities at unnamed military bases across the country, said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to preempt the president's announcement.
It would cost $290 million to $475 million for the Department of Defense to renovate an existing state or federal prison, which would be dedicated to holding only Defense detainees, the official said. But the Pentagon estimates it could save $65 million to $85 million a year, recouping the one-time costs in about five years, though the official said the numbers are "somewhat rough and notional” because Congress has not appropriated the money necessary to do a complete site assessment.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that the Pentagon report "will make a compelling case that closing the prison is clearly in our national security interest, but also will reflect the need for the United States government to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars."
There are 91 detainees remaining in the prison; each one costs more than $3 million per year.
"There is far too much money that is spent to operate that prison when there are more cost-effective alternatives available. And we certainly would like to work with the Congress to make those alternatives a reality because we know that those alternatives don't weaken our national security. In fact, they strengthen it. They enhance it," Earnest said. "And it would take away — by closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay — a chief recruiting tool that we know is used by terrorist organizations about the world."
Guantanamo Bay, located on the eastern edge of Cuba, has housed prisoners taken captive in war on terror since 2002. Since it exists on a base on Cuban soil but held by the United States under a 113-year-old lease, the prisoners are in what some human rights organizations call a "legal black hole."
But transferring them to U.S. soil would not necessarily change their legal status. A previous legal opinion from the Pentagon found that the 2001 legislation authorizing the global war on terror allows them to be held as combatants as long as hostilities remain.
There
were 242 detainees still in the Guantanamo Bay prison when Obama took
office in 2009, down from a high of almost 700. That number has dwindled
over the years as the Pentagon has transferred lower-risk detainees to
other countries — meaning that the prisoners who remain tend to be
considered higher security risks.
Of the 91 detainees remaining, 35 are eligible to be transferred to other countries as long as those countries can demonstrate that they can hold the prisoners without risk. Another 10 await trial by a military court, and 46 are still being evaluated.
Current law prohibits the president from transferring the Guantanamo Bay detainees to U.S. soil, where there are only a handful of maximum-security prisons deemed appropriate to house them. Congress also added a provision to the defense policy bill signed by Obama last year requiring the administration to put forward a plan for transferring the remaining detainees to prisons in the United States. Tuesday is the deadline for that report.
Obama will deliver a statement on the plan from the White House at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, setting up a last-year confrontation with Congress about a campaign promise he made eight years ago.
The report looked at existing facilities in South Carolina, Kansas and Colorado, as well as new facilities at unnamed military bases across the country, said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to preempt the president's announcement.
It would cost $290 million to $475 million for the Department of Defense to renovate an existing state or federal prison, which would be dedicated to holding only Defense detainees, the official said. But the Pentagon estimates it could save $65 million to $85 million a year, recouping the one-time costs in about five years, though the official said the numbers are "somewhat rough and notional” because Congress has not appropriated the money necessary to do a complete site assessment.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that the Pentagon report "will make a compelling case that closing the prison is clearly in our national security interest, but also will reflect the need for the United States government to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars."
There are 91 detainees remaining in the prison; each one costs more than $3 million per year.
"There is far too much money that is spent to operate that prison when there are more cost-effective alternatives available. And we certainly would like to work with the Congress to make those alternatives a reality because we know that those alternatives don't weaken our national security. In fact, they strengthen it. They enhance it," Earnest said. "And it would take away — by closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay — a chief recruiting tool that we know is used by terrorist organizations about the world."
Guantanamo Bay, located on the eastern edge of Cuba, has housed prisoners taken captive in war on terror since 2002. Since it exists on a base on Cuban soil but held by the United States under a 113-year-old lease, the prisoners are in what some human rights organizations call a "legal black hole."
But transferring them to U.S. soil would not necessarily change their legal status. A previous legal opinion from the Pentagon found that the 2001 legislation authorizing the global war on terror allows them to be held as combatants as long as hostilities remain.
A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYInside a shrinking Guantanamo prison | 02:55
After 14 years, the detention center on the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, appears to be winding down despite opposition in Congress to President Barack Obama's intent to close the facility. (Feb. 8)
AP
1 of 16
A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYPresident Obama renews vow to close Gitmo | 01:14
President Obama
renewed his vow to shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during
his final State of the Union address. He called the prison "expensive"
and "unnecessary."
VPC
2 of 16
A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYCarter: 10 prisoners transferred from Guantanamo | 01:29
Ten
prisoners from Yemen who were held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have been
released and sent to the Middle Eastern nation of Oman for resettlement.
(Jan. 14)
AP
3 of 16
A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITY5 things you may not know about Guantanamo Bay | 01:27
The
United States Senate passed a bill that bans moving detainees from
Guantanamo Bay to the United States. President Obama has repeatedly
stated he wishes to close the military prison.
VPC
4 of 16
- 9/11 responder in N.Y.: 'We want justice'
Of the 91 detainees remaining, 35 are eligible to be transferred to other countries as long as those countries can demonstrate that they can hold the prisoners without risk. Another 10 await trial by a military court, and 46 are still being evaluated.
Current law prohibits the president from transferring the Guantanamo Bay detainees to U.S. soil, where there are only a handful of maximum-security prisons deemed appropriate to house them. Congress also added a provision to the defense policy bill signed by Obama last year requiring the administration to put forward a plan for transferring the remaining detainees to prisons in the United States. Tuesday is the deadline for that report.
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