Senators Hope to Force Guantamo Prison to Remain Open

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Fox News:

If a bipartisan group of senators gets their way, the U.S. prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo) will remain open indefinitely, this in the face of recent comments from Attorney General Eric Holder that he remains committed to closing it, a bipartisan goal that has since eluded the administration. Lawmakers told reporters Wednesday that the treasure trove of intelligence material found at Usama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan makes it all the more urgent that it be made clear in U.S. law where captured unprivileged enemy belligerents are to be taken.


Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, introduced legislation Wednesday that states that the naval station "shall be a location for the detention of individuals in the custody or under the control of the Department of Defense who have engaged in, or supported, hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners on behalf of al Qaeda, the Taliban, or an affiliated group."


"There is no pathway forward when it comes to closing Guantanomo in the foreseeable future. It's not going to happen," said Graham, a military lawyer who has long maintained that the prison should be closed, though he has recently changed his view saying that no alternative detention facility has emerged. (read more)