White House: Obama can still close Guantanamo
President Barack Obama can still close the controversial Guantanamo Bay military prison before he leaves office, says the White House.
Obama may “use whatever authority is available to him to move closer to accomplishing his goal,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Friday.
Earnest said the Obama administration is currently negotiating with some countries to transfer 53 eligible Guantanamo detainees from the prison based in Cuba.
Some transfers would take place by the end of the 2015, Earnest added.
“Our preference is we would like to work with Congress to get this done,” he said, noting that "absolutely it's still possible. It's still something that we are working very hard to accomplish."
Obama had promised to close the Guantanamo Bay prison before his election in 2008, citing its damage to the US reputation abroad. However, later on the president backed away on his campaign promise due to stiff opposition from Congress.
On October 22, the president vetoed a $612 billion defense spending bill which would enable him to close he prison. He said it resorted to budget "gimmicks," and wastes money on unnecessary programs and prevents the closure of the military prison.
However, the US House of Representatives, in a 370-58 vote, overwhelmingly passed the revised $607 billion defense bill on Thursday.
The revised bill contains stiff restrictions on transfers of prisoners from the Guantanamo prison at the US naval base in Cuba. House Speaker Paul Ryan said inmates held at the military prison should remain at the facility.
The bill also includes $5 billion in spending cuts that were not contained in the previous version.
As many as 775 detainees have been brought to the Guantanamo Bay prison, which was set up after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Washington says the prisoners are terror suspects, but has not pressed charges against most of them in any court. Many detainees have been on hunger strike for months to draw attention to their conditions at the US military prison.
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