U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Friday he doubted the U.S. would be able to close the controversial U.S. military prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before President Barack Obama’s self-imposed one year deadline.
“Today’s announcement marks a significant step forward in our effort to close Guantanamo,” said Holder, later adding, “I think it's going to be difficult to close the facility by January the 22nd.”
When Holder announced that five of the suspected September 11 plotters would face federal court in New York City, while five others, including Abd al-Rahim al Nashiri, the lead suspect in the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole that killed 17 sailors, would face military commissions, the attorney general left out a couple key details: Where the commissions will be held, when, and how that decision affects the timing of the closing.
Ordering Guantanamo’s detention center closed was one of President Barack Obama’s first actions after his January inauguration– the first step toward fulfilling a campaign promise. And Holder’s decision ends the Bush administration’s controversial policy of keeping terrorists and battlefield prisoners off of American soil and out of U.S. civilian courts.
Everyone from House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, to Obama’s 2008 rival, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., strenuously objected to the decision. The question was (and remains, in intense Republican reaction on Friday): is a terrorist a war prisoner or a glorified criminal?
Either way, living up to the “close Gitmo” promise has proven more difficult than expected. The administration and Congress have spent the past ten months developing a protocol between the Justice and Defense Departments to determine where suspects should face trials and reforming military commissions, a senior defense official said today.
That will speed the process, but Friday announcement only covers 10 people.
“This is an important step, but…it’s by far nowhere near what would be necessary in terms of transfers,” said Ken Gude, of the Center for American Progress.
The U.S. still must find a place to transfer about 75 detainees, 40 to 60 awaiting prosecution, and another 50 to 75 others whose fates remain in limbo. Of those, 97 are Yemeni detainees the U.S. hopes to send to Saudi Arabia.
“There’s been no indication about where those guys will go,” said Gude.
In his press conference Friday, Holder said, “We’ve not made any determinations yet as to where the military commissions actually will take place."
Before any suspects can enter the United States, Congress requires 45 days of advance notice. And Holder said 9/11 suspects like Khalid Sheik Mohammad would not be brought into the US until several legal obstacles were finished and the time was right, though did not specific when they may be.
A Pentagon statement on Friday said Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Holder “understand and share the concern of the victims of terrorist attacks about the length of time it has taken to bring the perpetrators to justice. Justice has been delayed far too long.”
But about 90 minutes later, a senior defense official, speaking on background to reporters on the condition of anonymity, said it was still “a matter of time” before the administration would be ready to consult with Congress and inform the public before they could transfer prisoners out of Guantanamo and turn off the lights for good.
