Plan to Close Guantanamo Bay Prison in the Works

[Bosonic]

Source: Time

Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed White House plan to close the prison is being drafted

The Obama Administration is currently drafting a plan to finally close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, racing against the clock to fulfill a long-delayed promise by President Obama before his time in office expires.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Wednesday confirmed that a plan to “safely and responsibly close” the prison at Guantanamo Bay is currently being drafted by members of the Administration. Earnest said closing the prison is in the national security interest of the United States.

Sen. John McCain told Defense One in June that the administration was working on a plan, which Earnest confirmed on Wednesday.

Read more: http://time.com/3968292/guantanamo-bay-close-obama/

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White House in final stages of drafting plan to close Guantanamo prison

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House said on Wednesday that the Obama administration is in the final stages of drafting a plan to close the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

http://www.euronews.com/newswires/3042793-white-house-in-final-stages-of-drafting-plan-to-close-guantanamo-prison/

[Sunlei]

1. good news . Cuba also wants that land back. Be a great spot for Cuban owned tourist resorts.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. I wonder if the ground is clean enough for resorts

It was a Naval fueling station for a long time, there may be chemicals in the soil.

Maybe Trump can build a casino there.

Anyway, yeah, it's about time we closed the base and gave back the land.

[former9thward]

14. No one is talking about closing the base.

Just the prison.

[former9thward]

12. Closing the prison will not turn it over to Cuba.

The Navy will continue to use it as a base.

[jtuck004]

3. Normalize relations, remodel it and turn it into a resort, with those little beads they use

for money.

[uhnope]

4. GObama

[Tarheel_Dem]

5. Couldn't Cuba just order us to shut it down? Then the Repukes would be out of excuses. nt

[Igel]

9. No.

We have a lease and pay rent. They may not cash the checks but we send them every year.

[Tarheel_Dem]

10. Well, you know a landlord can kick you out if he's unhappy about the way you treat his property.

It sounds like Cuba really wants the place shut down, or at least that's the noise they make.

[former9thward]

13. I'm sure the Cuban Navy and Army will get right on that.

Not.

[zipplewrath]

6. have to get the House on board

Not sure how one is going to do that. Only real hope is to bury it in something the GOP wants bad. Although there are one or two closet dems that don't want it closed either.

[Moostache]

7. I have been an outspoken critic of President Obama on this...

I hope that he succeeds because one of the first things that attracted me to his candidacy was his stance on war, terrorism and torture - including the elimination of Gitmo and sanctioning of 'black sites'.

I take that stuff very seriously because even though many may think its hokey (or even a touch jingoistic), I really do love my country and it hurts me to know that things like illegal war, unjust detention and "extraordinary renditions" were being carried out in my name as an American. We all protested the wars to no avail. We said "not in my name" and it still happened. We had to watch John Kerry get swift-boated and shrub steal a re-election in Ohio after being named President in the first one by his daddy's buddies.

Obama was different.

He was different in his war votes. He was different in his approach to conflict. He was different in the way he said we would conduct ourselves as a nation.

He has overwhelmingly delivered in policy and in progress with the glaring exceptions of Gitmo and Wall Street reforms. I do not hold out hope for the caging of Wall Street...too many politicians in both parties on the dole to enact and enforce meaningful change there, but Gitmo is still one I hold out hope for...

Good luck Mr. President...I really do hope you succeed this time.

[Fearless]

8. I won't hold my breath on that one.

The president has only been saying that since... what 2007? 2004? We're close to the point where it's been open more under Obama than Bush!

[Judi Lynn]

11. Obama's Guantanamo Prison Closing Plan in Final Drafting, Earnest Says

Obama's Guantanamo Prison Closing Plan in Final Drafting, Earnest Says
Jul 22, 2015 3:03 PM CDT

The Obama administration is nearing completion of a plan to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that it will then send to Congress, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. The plan will shutter the facility in a safe and responsible way, Earnest told reporters on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama, who leaves office in less than 18 months, has battled for years with lawmakers over his pledge to close Guantanamo by bringing to trial some detainees and holding others in the U.S. as prisoners of war, while arranging to send the least dangerous ones home or to third countries.

In recent months, the administration has sent several detainees from Guantanamo to countries including Oman and Qatar, and the U.S. is seeking additional options for transfering more prisoners, Earnest said at the White House.

President George W. Bush began using the detention facility in Cuba to hold suspected and accused terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. Obama campaigned for president with a promise to close Guantanamo, saying it attracted international criticism of U.S. detention policies and interrogation practices.

More:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-22/guantanamo-prison-closing-plan-in-final-drafting-earnest-says