Missing Gitmo closure deadline
The Obama administration missed its self-imposed six-month deadline to determine what to do with terrorists housed at Guantanamo Bay, calling into question whether the president will be able to close the prison by January.
Two days into his presidency, Barack Obama signed an executive order to close the terrorist prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year. As part of that order, the administration gave itself a six-month deadline to decide what to do with the 245 prisoners housed on the island.
Today, the administration is extending that deadline by another six months — raising questions about whether the president can actually close Gitmo by January.
From the LA Times:
Obama administration officials said Monday they would not meet self-imposed deadlines for deciding what to do with scores of detainees too dangerous to release from the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The delays, involving those who cannot be tried, raise questions about whether the White House can close the prison by January, as President Obama pledged when he took office.
Although officials said the deadline still would be met, a task force studying the issue was expected to deliver its recommendations by Jan. 22 — exactly one year after Obama issued his executive order to close the prison within a year.
Since the six-month extension puts the deadline at Jan. 22, we can bet the facility won’t be closed within a year of Obama taking office. Public support for the closure has also expired, according to the Wall Street Journal:
While polls in January indicated that the public agreed with Mr. Obama’s plan to close Guantanamo, polls six months later suggested that the president has lost public support for the plan, in part due to concerns about the potential danger posed by the prisoners. Inside the administration, multiple camps are pointing fingers over the shifting public sentiment and over the reasons why closing the prison has become more difficult than originally envisioned.
Sources:
LA Times, July 21, 2009
Obama to miss Guantanamo deadlines
Wall Street Journal, July 20, 2009
U.S. Expected to Miss Deadline on Detainee Policy
CNN, Jan. 22, 2009
Obama signs order to close Guantanamo Bay facility
New York Times, Jan. 22, 2009
