5 years late, but whatever...
WASHINGTON (AP) – Rebuffing President Barack Obama’s latest plea, House Republicans on Monday proposed keeping open the military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by barring the administration from transferring its terror suspects to the United States or a foreign country such as Yemen.
The provisions dealing with the fate of the remaining 166 prisoners are part of a defense policy bill drafted by Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif. The chairman released the bill Monday, two days before Republicans and Democrats on the committee will vote on the measure. [...]
Less than two weeks ago, Obama renewed his 2008 campaign promise to close the Guantanamo prison. He argued that the indefinite detentions with little prospect of charges or a trial flouts the rule of law and said terrorists have used the naval detention center as a recruiting tool.
“Given my administration’s relentless pursuit of al-Qaida’s leadership, there is no justification beyond politics for Congress to prevent us from closing a facility that should never have been opened,” Obama said May 23 in a speech at the National Defense University.
Obama lifted the moratorium on transferring prisoners to Yemen and said their status would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. In Yemen this past weekend, officials said they were moving ahead on a facility to house any transfers from Guantanamo.
