5 key questions about shutting down Gitmo

Luke Skywalker · Feb 23, 2016

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[h=4]5 key questions about shutting down Gitmo[/h]President Obama released a plan from the Pentagon Tuesday that spelled out ways the United States can close the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and send the detainees elsewhere.

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President Obama lays out a plan to officially close the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay and move prisoners to a new location inside the U.S. VPC

A cell block at Guantanamo.(Photo: Tom Vanden Brook/USA TODAY)

President Obama released a plan from the Pentagon on Tuesday that spelled out ways the United States can close the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and send the detainees elsewhere, including to facilities in the United States. Here are some of the key details about the plan and Guantanamo.
Where could the detainees go in the United States?
The plan says the Pentagon team inspected 13 different facilities inside the United States that could accommodate the detainees, but it did not name the sites. Even so, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other officials have named several potential locations, starting with the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and the naval brig at Charleston, S.C.
"That does not mean those sites will be chosen," Carter said last August.
Other potential sites include two prisons in Colorado, including the federal high security prison in Florence.
Convicted terrorists are already held in the Florence prison, including Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in civilian court for the Sept. 11, 2011, attacks; Faisal Shahzad, who tried to blow up a car bomb in New York's Times Square in 2010; and Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center.
Elected officials from virtually every state with a facility that could house the Guantanamo detainees have protested, saying that moving the detainees there could jeopardize the safety of their residents.
Why can't the president just close Guantanamo?
Congress won't let him.
In the recent effort last December, Congress approved a spending bill for 2016 that specifically bars*Obama from closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility or spending money on a new facility to house terrorists. Obama signed the bill despite provisions he didn't like, such as those about Guantanamo, to avoid a government shutdown.
USA TODAY
President Obama signs massive spending bill, tax measures into law

A defense authorization bill Obama signed last year also included language prohibiting from closing Guantanamo and moving the detainees.
The plan released by Obama Tuesday was meant to show Congress how the prison could be closed and how much it would cost.

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Here is a brief analysis on the history and current state of Guantanamo Bay. USA TODAY

How many detainees remain in Guantanamo?
There are now 91 terrorist suspects remaining at the prison. Of those, 35 have been identified as being eligible for transfer out of the prison and to other countries, the Pentagon report said.
At one time during the Bush administration, there were almost 800 detainees at Guantanamo. More than 500 were transferred by the previous administration and 147 by Obama, Pentagon documents show.
USA TODAY
Obama takes last chance to close Guantanamo Bay

Where have the detainees gone?
Since Oct. 1, 2014, Pentagon records show, 58 detainees have been transferred to Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina,*Estonia, Georgia, Ghana,*Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Montenegro, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, United Kingdom and*Uruguay.
Oman, a small nation on the Persian Gulf, has taken the most*— 20.
Who decides which detainees are eligible to leave?
That work is done by the Periodic Review Board, an interagency group including representatives from the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department, State Department, the*Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The board uses current intelligence and other information to determine if "the continued detention of the detainee remains necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States," Pentagon records show.
The administration hopes to finish reviewing all detainees by this fall and to determine if any more are eligible for transfer.

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYInside a shrinking Guantanamo prison | 02:55After 14 years, the detention center on the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, appears to be winding down despite opposition in Congress to President Barack Obama's intent to close the facility. (Feb. 8) AP

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYPresident Obama renews vow to close Gitmo | 01:14President Obama renewed his vow to shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during his final State of the Union address. He called the prison "expensive" and "unnecessary." VPC

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYCarter: 10 prisoners transferred from Guantanamo | 01:29Ten prisoners from Yemen who were held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have been released and sent to the Middle Eastern nation of Oman for resettlement. (Jan. 14) AP

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITY5 things you may not know about Guantanamo Bay | 01:27The United States Senate passed a bill that bans moving detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States. President Obama has repeatedly stated he wishes to close the military prison. VPC

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYDefense Sec'y. on Need for Guantanamo Closure | 01:39US troops and veterans asked Secretary of Defense Ash Carter questions in a Worldwide Troop Talk on Tuesday, ranging from the future of Guantanamo Bay to the possibility of US troops on the ground to defeat the Islamic State group. (Sept. 1) AP

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYTimeline: Main events in US-Cuba relations | 02:44President Obama said that the U.S. will begin to normalize relations and establish diplomatic ties with Cuba, ending many restrictions that have been in place for five decades. Here are key dates in relations between the two countries. VPC

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYWhat’s next after damning torture report | USA NOW | 02:57Hadley Malcolm speaks with Washington Enterprise Editor Ray Locker about the implications of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA torture after 9/11. (USA NOW, USA TODAY)

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYBergdahl's trade for detainees sparks debate | USA NOW | 02:38Sgt. Bergdahl's release in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay has sparked debate on whether Obama "negotiated with terrorists." VPC

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITY12 years on, Guantanamo Bay camps still far from closing | 02:48More than 12 years after it was first used to house prisoners of the US war on terror, the Guantanamo Bay detention facility is still operational, with more than 150 inmates.
Video provided by AFP Newslook

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYLife inside U.S. Guantanamo Bay detention facility | 05:03It’s been more than 12 years since inmates first arrived at U.S. detention camps in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Conditions have improved, but rights groups say prisoners have little prospect of being charged or tried. Newslook

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYAway from prison camps, life on Guantanamo Bay has surreal edge | 02:23Most well-known for its detention facility, Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is a fully-functioning US military base, complete with all the amenities that entails for the families who live there.
Video provided by AFP Newslook

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYObama heckled while talking about Gitmo | 01:57A woman heckled President Obama several times during his speech on counterrorism, closing Guantanamo Bay, and drones. The president made light of the interruptions and said her voice was worth listening to, even if he didn't agree with her.

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYObama: We need to close Guantanamo | 01:32President Obama says he's going to try again to close down the prison for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. VPC

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITYAfter long quiet, Guantanamo grows tense | 02:17After a long period of quiet, the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base has grown increasingly tense, with more than half of the prisoners refusing to eat and nearly everyone locked down for most of the day since a violent clash with guards April 13. (April 22) AP

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITY9-11 relatives see al-Qaeda suspects | 01:05Relatives of victims of the September 11th, 2001 attacks were able to see the suspects, during a war crimes tribunal at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Five men are accused of training and aiding the hijackers. (Jan. 29) AP

A LOOK BACK AT NEWS FROM THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION FACILITY9/11 responder in N.Y.: 'We want justice' | 02:30A retired New York firefighter was among the 9/11 families and responders who watched the pretrial hearings at Guantanamo Bay via closed-circuit television at the Fort Hamilton Army Base.

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5 key questions about shutting down Gitmo

Luke Skywalker

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