White House Splits Over Closing Gitmo

Legal puzzles stump Bush aides as shutdown gains momentum
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 22, 2007 5:03 AM CDT
White House Splits Over Closing Gitmo
In this Dec. 5, 2006 file photo, reviewed by a U.S. Dept of Defense official, a detainee sits inside a fenced area at Camp 5 maximum security detention prison, Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. The Bush administration is nearing a decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and move...   (Associated Press)

President Bush is under mounting pressure to shut the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, but top aides remain deeply divided over the fate of 375 detainees there. Bush has said he wants to the close the prison, but WaPo reports senior officials including Dick Cheney are opposed to shipping detainees to the US where they'd have expanded rights.

Meanwhile, defense officials say dozens of released detainees have returned to the battlefield for al Qaeda, raising concerns about repatriation. Congressional Dems are pushing for an expedited shutdown; house majority leader Steny Hoyer recently called the prison "an international disgrace." (More Guantanamo Bay stories.)

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