Obama: We Won't Make Gitmo Deadline

And appears no closer to closure than it was 2 years ago

(NEWSER) - Today is a birthday, but probably not one you want to celebrate: Guantanamo Bay is turning 10, an anniversary that will be marked by protests here and abroad. Ten years ago, the first 20 detainees were flown to the detention facility in chains. Several of those 20 remain at Gitmo today, NPR notes. Of the 171 detainees still held at Guantanamo, just 36 will likely be given a military trial. Another 48 will, seemingly, be detained indefinitely; the US lacks a sufficient amount of evidence to try them, but insists they are too dangerous to release. More»

When it comes to resettling prisoners, others want US to go first

(NEWSER) - Two years ago yesterday, President Obama pledged to close the prison camps at Guantánamo Bay within one year. So why are they still open? Much of the blame falls on Congress, the Miami Herald reports. Because Congress won’t allow any of the captives—even those considered low-risk—to resettle in the US, other countries are similarly unwilling, the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables reveal. That, coupled with Obama's resurrection of Gitmo military trials , makes it seem unlikely the prison will close any time soon. More»

Administration ends 2-year military prosecution freeze

(NEWSER) - President Obama today reversed a two-year freeze on military prosecutions against Guantanamo Bay detainees, the AP reports. In an executive order, the president restarted the process of trying the high-risk detainees—the latest acknowledgment of the political difficulties of fulfilling his campaign promise to close the Cuban detention facility. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will also rescind his January 2009 ban on new prosecutions. More»

Neither is guilty, but one has no offer of resettlement

(NEWSER) - Bahtiyar Mahnut, a Chinese Uighur detainee at Guantanamo Bay, is guilty of no crime. In fact, he’s free to leave and even has an offer of sanctuary from the island nation of Palau, like all of his compatriots save one. And that one, his brother Arkin, is why he’s staying, reports the Washington Post. “Every day here is an eternity,” Bahtiyar tells Arkin’s lawyer. “But I have to look out for my brother.” More»

(NEWSER) - The Chinese Muslims freed from Guantanamo last week had never heard of al-Qaeda before arriving in Cuba, one of them tells the Royal Gazette of Bermuda. "From what we have heard about them, they are an extremely radical group, with totally different ideals from ours," said Salahidin Abdulahad, who arrived in Bermuda last week with three other Uighurs. "We are a peace-loving people." More»