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Obama's last Guantánamo closure plan does not name new sites for detainees
Source: The Guardian
Obama's last Guantánamo closure plan does not name new sites for detainees
Proposal bound for Capitol Hill does not offer specifics on replacement facility, in
part to prevent any new site from becoming political rallying point
Spencer Ackerman in New York
Monday 22 February 2016 23.06 GMT
Barack Obama’s final plan to close Guantánamo Bay does not name alternative sites in the United States for sending remaining detainees, according to sources familiar with it.
Moving Guantánamo detainees to the mainland US remains central to the clash between the White House and Congress over closing the facility in Cuba. However, the plan, due to be sent to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, declines to name alternative venues, despite a months-long field review undertaken by Pentagon officials.
The list of eligible and likely sites is a familiar one – the navy brig at Charleston, South Carolina; the army base at Fort Leavenworth; and the US Justice Department’s Supermax prison at Florence, Colorado, are leading contenders – but officials declined to identify a desired site, in part to avoid any proposed destination becoming a rallying point for political opposition.
Instead, the last-ditch plan offers to engage legislators in a dialogue about lifting the ban on the military transferring Guantánamo detainees back into the US that has been in effect since 2011.
Even inside the administration, there is widespread skepticism that the Republican-led Congress will relent in a presidential election year on an issue that it has used to portray Obama as weak on terrorism.
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Proposal bound for Capitol Hill does not offer specifics on replacement facility, in
part to prevent any new site from becoming political rallying point
Spencer Ackerman in New York
Monday 22 February 2016 23.06 GMT
Barack Obama’s final plan to close Guantánamo Bay does not name alternative sites in the United States for sending remaining detainees, according to sources familiar with it.
Moving Guantánamo detainees to the mainland US remains central to the clash between the White House and Congress over closing the facility in Cuba. However, the plan, due to be sent to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, declines to name alternative venues, despite a months-long field review undertaken by Pentagon officials.
The list of eligible and likely sites is a familiar one – the navy brig at Charleston, South Carolina; the army base at Fort Leavenworth; and the US Justice Department’s Supermax prison at Florence, Colorado, are leading contenders – but officials declined to identify a desired site, in part to avoid any proposed destination becoming a rallying point for political opposition.
Instead, the last-ditch plan offers to engage legislators in a dialogue about lifting the ban on the military transferring Guantánamo detainees back into the US that has been in effect since 2011.
Even inside the administration, there is widespread skepticism that the Republican-led Congress will relent in a presidential election year on an issue that it has used to portray Obama as weak on terrorism.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/22/obama-guantanamo-closure-plan-replacement-sites
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