With only two months left in office, President Obama has signaled that he is more determined than ever to shut down Guantanamo Bay to fulfill that campaign promise.
“It is true that I have not been able to close the darn thing because of the congressional restrictions that have been placed on us,” Obama said at a news conference Monday. “What is also true is we have greatly reduced the population.
You now have significantly less than 100 people there. There are some additional transfers that may be taking place over next the two months.”
The bulk of the detainees were handled long before Obama took office, from 680 at its peak to about 240 when Obama made his pledge to empty the prison. He’s transferred or released more than half and is determined to zero it out, even if it means releasing its most dastardly occupants, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, the mastermind behind the September 11 terrorist attacks.
We expect Obama will tell Americans that he had to do it, otherwise Trump will send all Muslim immigrants there, or some such nonsense.
What remains to be seen is where Obama will send the remainders. Back to the battlefield overseas in the manner of a transfer? Or, to Colorado, Kansas or South Carolina in violation of U.S. law?
In a letter Tuesday, Attorney General Cynthia Coffman and fellow AG of South Carolina Alan Wilson wrote to Donald Trump asking him to intervene and prevent any transfers to the U.S.
Trump pledged during his campaign that he would not close the detention center. It remains to be seen what power, if any, he has as president-elect to prevent the current officeholder from fulfilling his own campaign promise.