House Bill Narrowly Kills Prospect of Gitmo Closure

Administration's Half Hearted Efforts Come to an End

by Jason Ditz, December 08, 2010

A catch all spending bill which narrowly passed today in the House of Representatives effectively ends the Obama Administration’s effort to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, such as it is.

The bill, which passed on a 212-206 vote, forbids the Obama Administration from transferring any detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to the United States for the purposes of giving them an actual trial, and mentions Khalid Sheikh Mohammed by name.

This means that even the farcical, half-hearted efforts by the Obama Administration to close the facility will have to stop, and the administration, which already seems quite comfortable with the Bush-era style military tribunals, won’t even be giving lip-service to idea that the facility will close at some point.

President Obama had made the closure of Guantanamo one of his first pledges upon taking office insisting he would get it done in 12 months. After failing in 2009, he made virtually no effort in 2010, though he still claimed it was his “goal.“

Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz