Obama administration 'in final stages' of shutting down prison at Guantanamo Bay

The White House is in the "final stages" of drafting a plan to close the controversial US military prison Guantanamo Bay, a spokesman has said.

Josh Earnest said the closure of the Cuban detention camp was a national security interest.

It was one of the first directives President Barack Obama ordered two months after he was elected in 2008.

Inmates have slowly been transferred out and at the start of the year, 122 men were left.

The peak population in 2003 was 684.

Ben_Reilly wrote:

The White House is in the "final stages" of drafting a plan to close the controversial US military prison Guantanamo Bay, a spokesman has said.

Josh Earnest said the closure of the Cuban detention camp was a national security interest.

It was one of the first directives President Barack Obama ordered two months after he was elected in 2008.

Inmates have slowly been transferred out and at the start of the year, 122 men were left.

The peak population in 2003 was 684.

Highly recommend reading the rest:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33626398

The Devil, You Know wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:

The White House is in the "final stages" of drafting a plan to close the controversial US military prison Guantanamo Bay, a spokesman has said.

Josh Earnest said the closure of the Cuban detention camp was a national security interest.

It was one of the first directives President Barack Obama ordered two months after he was elected in 2008.

Inmates have slowly been transferred out and at the start of the year, 122 men were left.

The peak population in 2003 was 684.

Highly recommend reading the rest:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33626398

I am surprised they have not handed over all those committed terrorists already, after all they gave five away for a deserter who cost the lives of several us service men who tried to find him.

McClatchy interviewed 66 released detainees, more than a dozen local officials — primarily in Afghanistan — and U.S. officials with intimate knowledge of the detention program. The investigation also reviewed thousands of pages of U.S. military tribunal documents and other records.

This unprecedented compilation shows that most of the 66 were low-level Taliban grunts, innocent Afghan villagers or ordinary criminals. At least seven had been working for the U.S.-backed Afghan government and had no ties to militants, according to Afghan local officials. In effect, many of the detainees posed no danger to the United States or its allies.

The investigation also found that despite the uncertainty about whom they were holding, U.S. soldiers beat and abused many prisoners.

Devil wrote:I am surprised they have not handed over all those committed terrorists already, after all they gave five away for a deserter who cost the lives of several us service men who tried to find him.

BBC wrote:...but the US holds no evidence that can be used in civilian or military trials against them.

The camp was established in 2002 by the Bush administration to detain the most dangerous suspects for interrogation...