Trump inks order to keep Guantanamo prison open

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to keep open the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, marking a formal reversal of his predecessor’s eightyear effort to shut it down.

Trump made it clear during his campaign that he wanted Guantanamo Bay to remain open and to “load it up with some bad dudes,” but he has not yet sent any detainees to the facility.

The order, which he signed just before delivering his first State of the Union address, says the U.S. maintains the option to detain additional enemy combatants at the lockup in Cuba when lawful and necessary to protect U.S. national security. It requires the defense secretary to recommend criteria for determining the fate of individuals captured by the United States in armed conflict, including sending them to Guantanamo.

“Terrorists who do things like place bombs in civilian hospitals are evil,” Trump said in his address. “When possible, we have no choice but to annihilate them. When necessary, we must be able to detain and question them. But we must be clear: Terrorists are not merely criminals. They are unlawful enemy combatants.”

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in its most recent report on the subject that about 17 percent of the 728 detainees who have been released from the Guantanamo Bay lockup are “confirmed” and 12 percent are “suspected” of re-engaging in militant activities.

But the vast majority of those re-engagements occurred with former prisoners who did not go through the security review that was set up under President Barack Obama. Trump’s order says this review process will continue to be used to determine whether detainees should be held.