The development stands to increase the number of Guantanamo inmates who ultimately could be moved to rural
site of a state prison the Obama administration wants to purchase and
operate dually as a federal prison and military detention center.
Some supporters have sold the idea of “Gitmo North”
to local residents as the destination for no more than 100 former
Guantanamo detainees, though the
The
of new evidence that the country is a center for al-Qaida, which is
suspected of backing the attempt by a Nigerian militant to down an
airliner bound for
“While we remain committed to closing the facility,
the determination has been made that, right now, any additional
transfers to
In comments after meeting with national security officials, Obama reiterated the decision to halt transfers.
“We will not be transferring additional detainees back to
at this time,” Obama said. “But make no mistake: We will close
Guantanamo prison, which has damaged our national security interests
and become a tremendous recruiting tool for al-Qaida.”
The Obama administration last transferred six detainees to
and one other Yemeni was transferred earlier as a result of a court
order. In all, 21 Yemeni detainees have been released from Guantanamo.
Yemeni nationals make up the largest single group of
remaining detainees at Guantanamo. Finding ways to transfer those
detainees from the prison is a critical hurdle to Obama’s plans to
close the prison.
There are 91 Yemeni detainees, making up almost half of the 198 people remaining in the prison.
been the most problematic country to transfer prisoners to; the U.S.
government has long been concerned about the Yemeni government’s
ability to hold or monitor detainees.
Although the Obama administration has acknowledged
it will not meet a self-imposed deadline to close Guantanamo this
month, the administration continues to work on ways to shutter the
prison, which is widely cited as a source of international disapproval
of U.S. policies.