Guantanamo Bay Closing? Obama In ‘Final Stages’ Of Shutting Down Gitmo

Obama is closing Guantanamo Bay? Barack Obama is reportedly close to fulfilling the campaign promise of closing Gitmo. A plan for shuttering the facility in Cuba will soon be presented to Congress, according to the White House.

Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Guantanamo Bay serves as a “particularly effective recruiting tool” for terrorists. The Obama administration spokesman did speculate about a specific percentage drop in the number ISIS or Al-Qaeda recruits if Gitmo is closed. Earnest also claimed that the Obama administration is in the “final stages” of developing a closure plan for the facility holding suspected terrorists.

“There has got to be a better way for us to spend taxpayer dollars than to spend more than $100 million a year operating a prison that only has, I think now, 116 inmates,” Josh Earnest added. “There also has to be a better way for us to protect our national security interests.”

A defense bill passed by the Senate would force elected officials to review the Obama Guantanamo Bay closing plan. The proposal reportedly involves considering if easing restrictions at Gitmo would make it more difficult for the president to transfer detainees out of the base in an overall effort to close the facility at the US Naval base. The removal of the “Taliban Five” in exchange for Bowe Bergdahl sparked intense national debate and backlash after traitor charges surfaced against the former soldier.

The House version Guantanamo Bay portion of the defense bill does not contain the provision which requires consideration for an ease of restrictions. President Obama has threatened to veto the proposed defense bill multiple times if the legislation includes wording that would make it harder for him to close Gitmo.

Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, reportedly proposed creating the “path” leading toward the Guantanamo Bay closure. McCain was taken as a prison of war while serving in Vietnam. Opposition to the Gitmo closure reportedly includes lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. Concerns that the detainees will return to the battlefield have been raised. Relocating the detainees to American prisons is also largely objected to by many Republicans and Democrats.

“Given the serious threats America faces, it’s incredible to see this administration threatening to veto a bill that gives our troops a pay raise, strengthens our cybersecurity, and imposes greater restrictions on releasing terrorists,” John Boehner spokesman Cory Fritz said.

What do you think about closing Guantanamo Bay? Where should the Gitmo detainees go?

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