Blow for Obama plan to close Guantánamo

Blow for Obama plan to close Guantánamo
By Andrew Ward and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: May 21 2009 00:40 | Last updated: May 21 2009 00:40
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7f097f7e-4595-11de-b6c8-00144feabdc0.html


Barack Obama will seek to wrestle back control of his counter-terrorism policy on Thursday after suffering a serious setback in his efforts to close the Guantánamo Bay prison.


In a speech, the US president will remake the case to shut the detention camp in Cuba – which became a symbol of George W. Bush’s “war on terror” – after the Senate voted 90-6 on Wednesday to stall the process.

Democrats sided with Republicans to block $80m in funding to close Guantánamo and backed a measure that would bar the Pentagon from bringing detainees to the US either for release or imprisonment.

The Senate vote, which followed similar action by the House last week, raised doubts about whether Mr Obama could fulfil his own pledge to close the camp by January. Besides growing unease among congressional Democrats, Mr Obama also faces dissent from inside his own administration.

Republicans were given fresh ammunition to attack the planned closure on Wednesday when Robert Mueller, the FBI director, voiced “concerns” about the prospect of detainees being brought to the US. On Tuesday, the Financial Times reported that the FBI had opposed a recommendation by Mr Obama’s Guantánamo task force to release two Chinese Uighurs in the US.

“The concerns we have about individuals who may support terrorism being in the US run from ... providing financing, radicalising others ... [to] the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the US,” Mr Mueller told Congress.

The internal divisions were highlighted when Michele Flournoy, under-secretary of defence for policy, told reporters on Wednesday that the US needed to take some of the 240 detainees at Guantánamo to help convince allies to accept others.

“When we are asking allies to do their fair share in dealing with this challenge we have to do our fair share,” said Ms Flournoy.

Harry Reid, Senate majority leader, insisted that Democrats remained committed to closing the prison, but said the administration must provide more details before Congress would approve funding. “Let me be clear, Democrats will not move to close Guantánamo without a responsible plan to ensure Americans’ safety. And we will never allow a terrorist to be released into the United States,” he said.

The White House said it accepted the need for more details and vowed to work with Congress. Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary, said Mr Obama would “lay out the framework” on Thursday for shutting Guantánamo.

Some of the loudest Republican dissent has come from Dick Cheney, the former vice-president, who is due to make his own speech on national security in Washington on Thursday. The duelling speeches promise to add further fuel to a counter-terrorism policy debate that has temporarily dislodged the economy from the top of the US political agenda.

Republicans seized on the FT report that the task force had recommended releasing the Uighurs, who are no longer considered “enemy combatants”. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican senator, said: “If this is even being considered, the decision to release these terrorists into our country is both reckless and clearly contrary to the will of the American people.”