The Obama administration today released its long-awaited plan to close the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer remaining detainees to a facility in the US.
But the proposal ducks the question of where the facility would be located and whether President Barack Obama could complete the unlikely closure before he leaves office.
The plan, which was delivered to Congress, makes a financial argument for closing the controversial detention center. US officials say it calls for up to USD 475 million in construction costs that would ultimately be offset by as much as USD 180 million per year in operating cost savings.
The proposal is part of Obama's last effort to make good on his unfulfilled 2008 campaign vow to close Guantanamo and persuade lawmakers to allow the Defence Department to move nearly 60 detainees to the US. But with few specifics, the proposal may only further antagonise lawmakers who have repeatedly passed legislation banning any effort to move detainees to the US.
Republican Mac Thornberry, chairman of House Armed Services Committee, has said his panel would hold a hearing on a closure plan. But he sent a letter to Obama warning that Congress has made clear what details must be included in any plan and that anything less than that would be unacceptable. Obama, meanwhile, planned to make a midmorning statement on Guantanamo at the White House.
US officials say the plan considers, but does not name, 13 different locations in the US, including seven existing prison facilities in Colorado, South Carolina and Kansas, as well as six other locations on current military bases. They say the plan doesn't recommend a preferred site and the cost estimates are meant to provide a starting point for a conversation with Congress.
According to the officials, the US facilities would cost between USD 265 million and USD 305 million to operate each year. The annual operating cost for Guantanamo is USD 445 million, but the officials said the Cuba detention centre will need about USD 225 million in repairs and construction costs if it continues to be used.
