Gitmo Gets Major Rehab

Improvements will allow camp to remain open for years
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 8, 2012 2:07 AM CDT
Updated Jun 8, 2012 3:50 AM CDT
Gitmo Gets Major Rehab
Pprotesters demonstrate outside Britain's Houses of Parliament during Obama's visit last year.   (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

Looks like Gitmo will be open for a long time to come, even if President Obama wins a second term. The detention center has been quietly undergoing a multimillion-dollar upgrade that will allow it to remain open for years to come, reports MSNBC. Improvements include a $750,000 soccer field, a new headquarters for the guards, and a new hospital. Most of the improvements are taking place at Camp VI, which holds close to 80% of the center's 169 prisoners.

Camp VI prisoners are deemed the most compliant with the rules, and have access to cable TV and "enriching your life" classes dealing with matters like learning to paint—and personal finance. The improvements make it safer for guards and detainees alike, says the camp's commander. He doesn't expect the camp to close any time soon, although he could close down the operation in "a couple of months" if needed, he notes. "We have removed these belligerents from the battlefield, and our job is to detain them, and we do that very well," he says. (More Guantanamo Bay stories.)

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