After the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound jet on Christmas Day, conservatives renewed calls for Obama to abandon his plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
"Guantanamo remains the proper place for holding terrorists, especially those who may not be able to be detained as securely in a third country," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader.
After the attack, Obama halted transfers of detainees to Yemen, the country where the alleged bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, may have received instructions on how to blow up the aircraft. But White House officials said Obama remains committed to closing the facility, and the plan to close the prison seem to keep moving forward, slowly.
The Obama administration has identified a prison in Thomson, Ill., that it hopes to acquire and renovate for detainees now at the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, and officials are working out details for funding the plan. The Senate seems amenable to the idea; in November, the Senate rejected a measure to restrict funds for the facility.
Obama said after the inauguration that he hoped to close Guantanamo within one year, and administration officials admit they won't make that deadline. During the campaign, Obama gave himself no such deadline, and we're judging him here on his campaign promises. He said he would close Guantanamo Bay, and concrete steps are being taken to do so. The promise remains In the Works.
Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
← Back to Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center
Against obstacles, Obama still works toward closure
Our Sources
U.S. Senate, Senate vote, To prohibit the use of funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act to construct or modify a facility in the United States or its territories to permanently or temporarily hold any individual held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Nov. 17, 2009
The Washington Post, In Senate vote, signs of shift on detainees, Nov. 18, 2009
Bloomberg, Guantanamo Detainees Won"t Be Sent to Yemen for Now, Jan. 5, 2009