Pentagon draws up plans for Guantanamo closure
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has ordered aides to prepare a plan for closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, in expectation that Mr Obama will take action soon after moving into the White House next month.
A Pentagon spokesman said Mr Gates was anticipating orders to shut down the base, in keeping with promises made by President-Elect Barack Obama during his election campaign.
"The request has been made, his team is working on it so he can be prepared to assist the president-elect should he wish to address this very early in his tenure," said Geoff Morrell, the spokesman.
Opened in 2002, the prison has long been a stain on America's reputation for human rights and fairness. But closing it will entail numerous difficulties.
Mr Obama's likely first step will be suspending the military trials set up by George W Bush, which have been widely criticized for their lack of judicial rigour.
A new court would then have to be created on the US mainland for up to 80 terror suspects the Pentagon has yet to put on trial at the US naval base in Cuba.
They would almost certainly include five detainees charged in relation to the September 11 attacks, whose trial has yet to start in earnest.
Another 120 inmates have been cleared for release, but have not been accepted by their home countries or neutral countries.
1 comment:
Unfortunately Portugal, that through that ridiculous José Durão Barroso, was, against the majority of the population's expressed will, supporting the barbaric invasion of Iraq, is once again the first to offer to receive Guantanamo prisioners, when it doesn't have the necessary conditions to offer to their own common prison population.
It seems that Blair, Barroso and Socrates have been brain washed to welcome everything that comes from USA.
I may be wrong, but I feel that Osama is trying to involve other countries in washing that disgusting american blotch, so they can come out clean of that crime.
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