White House: We plan to shut Guantanamo

THE White House announced last night that it was finalising a plan to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.

A White House spokesman said it was in America’s national security interest to close the facility, which was opened by the Bush administration after the September 11 attacks to house suspected terrorists.

The White House disclosed it was trying to close the camp hours after the

New York Times reported that the US defence department was resisting pressure from within the administration to speed up moves to close the facility in north-western Cuba.

A spokesman said the plan was in its “final stages”, although it would then have to be submitted to Congress, where previous attempts to close Guantánamo have met stiff resistance.

The continued existence of the camp has been a thorn in the side for Barack Obama, who promised to close the detention centre while campaigning for president, but was thwarted by Republicans in Congress who blocked the transfer of detainees to the mainland. The facility was opened in January 2002 but swiftly became infamous for its treatment of inmates, who were photographed, sometimes hooded, in orange jumpsuits.

A total of 116 detainees are currently held at Guantánamo, of which 64 are considered too dangerous to be released. Among the detainees is Shaker Aamer, a Saudi-born British citizen who has twice been cleared for release, by the Bush administration in 2007, and by Mr Obama in 2009.

Aamer’s continued detention is a source of embarrassment for British authorities.