WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama
administration's struggling quest to close the U.S. detention center at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is mired in state and federal politics. Frustrated
White House and Pentagon officials are blaming each other for the slow
progress releasing approved detainees and finding a new prison to house
those still held.
Defense
Secretary Ash Carter is facing criticism from some administration
officials who complain that he has not approved enough transfers, even
though 52 Guantanamo detainees are eligible. Carter's predecessor, Chuck
Hagel, was forced from the Pentagon job in part because the White House
felt he was not moving quickly enough to send detainees to other
countries.
Two officials said
the White House is frustrated because President Barack Obama discussed
the issue with Carter when he was hired this year to lead the Defense
Department, and they believed Carter was on board with the White House's
plans to act faster.
Other
U.S. officials note that Carter has approved some transfers and is
pushing his staff to move quickly to get more to his desk. But many
other proposed transfers are slogging through the bureaucracy, under
review by a long list of defense, military, intelligence and other
administration offices. The transfers cannot be approved unless
officials believe the detainees will not return to terrorism or the
battlefield upon release and that there is a host country willing to
take them.
During his two years as Pentagon chief, Hagel approved
44 detainee transfers. Carter, in his first seven months, has
transferred six.
Pentagon
press secretary Peter Cook issued a statement Saturday saying that
Carter shares Obama's commitment to closing the detention facility
?responsibly and has been working "deliberately and diligently" on a
comprehensive plan.
"Working with our interagency partners and
Congress, his top priority has been and will continue to be the safety
and security of the American people," Cook said.
Obama has
promised to close the facility since he was a presidential candidate in
2008. He said it ran counter to American values to keep people in
prison, many without criminal charges or due process.
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FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2015 file photo, Defense Secretary Ash Carter speaks during a news conferenc …
Opponents have argued the detainees are essentially prisoners of war.
From a peak of 680 prisoners, 116 remain. Finding acceptable places for them has been an intractable problem.
"Finding
a solution for these individuals involves complicated negotiations with
international partners, extensive consultations with the leaders of the
national security and legal organizations and final approval by me,"
Carter told reporters.
A key player in the process is Gen. Martin
Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dempsey, who spent more
than three years as a commander in Iraq, continues to be very cautious
in his recommendations for transfers. His opinions carry a lot of
weight.
According to U.S. officials familiar with the process,
Carter recently notified Congress of two transfers, and has four whose
files are ready to go to Capitol Hill, likely later this month. Congress
has 30 days to review the transfers before they are made public.
A
number of U.S. officials familiar with the ongoing discussions spoke on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about
the subject publicly.
The movement of detainees is only part of
the challenge. A greater hurdle will be finding a U.S.-based prison to
house the 64 detainees considered too dangerous to be sent to another
country. Congress has opposed any effort to bring detainees to America,
so Obama's long-stated goal of closing Guantanamo before he leaves
office in January 2017 is more likely to die on the steps of Capitol
Hill.
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Aware of those objections, the White House last month stalled
Pentagon efforts to send a plan to Congress outlining several U.S.
prisons that could be upgraded and used for the detainees. Early drafts
of the plan included some rough estimates of the costs and the time
needed for renovations.
U.S. officials said the administration was
worried that sending the plan to Congress could affect the crucial vote
on the Iran nuclear deal by infuriating lawmakers who do not want the
detainees moved to the U.S. or who adamantly oppose having them in a
prison in their state or district. The resolution of disapproval of the
Iran deal failed in the Senate, handing Obama a victory on that issue.
Three
to five civilian facilities are being eyed as potential sites,
officials said. A Pentagon team has gone to military facilities in South
Carolina and Kansas to develop better estimates of construction and
other changes that would be needed to house the detainees as well as
conduct military commission trials for those accused of war crimes.
The
visits to the Navy Consolidated Brig in Charleston, South Carolina, and
the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas
triggered immediate outrage from lawmakers and governors there.
Republican
Govs. Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Sam Brownback of Kansas have
threatened to sue the administration if detainees are brought to either
state.
Both the House and
Senate have pending legislation that would maintain prohibitions on
transferring detainees to U.S. facilities. The Senate legislation allows
the restrictions to be lifted if the White House submits a plan to
close the facility and it's approved by Congress.
GOP
Sen. John McCain of Arizona, chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, has made it known he would consider a comprehensive plan to
close Guantanamo, but said it must include answers to a number of tough
legal and policy questions, including whether detainees held in the U.S.
would have additional rights.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has opposed using the Charleston brig because it is in a populated area.
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., has said flatly that, "Not on my watch will any terrorist be placed in Kansas."
Carter
has acknowledged the challenge of getting a U.S. facility approved by
Congress, but has insisted that some lawmakers have indicated a
willingness to consider a plan.
"This
would be a good thing to do if — if we can all come together behind a
plan to do it," Carter told reporters. "Our responsibility is to provide
them with a plan that they can consider that is a responsible one."