Officials: Obama Hopes to Release More Gitmo Detainees Soon

In Talks With Countries to Accept 64 Approved Detainees

Six years into his promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, officials say President Obama is finally moving to significantly reduce the population of the prison, with hopes to release 64 detainees approved for release in the next six months.

These detainees have been approved for release for years, but in many cases there is no place to actually send them. US officials say the administration is in talks with myriad countries trying to get them to take some in.

If President Obama actually follows through, this would be the most detainees he’d have released from Guantanamo in a single year in his entire administration.

Still, it would be less than half of the 132 detainees still held at the facility, so even if the president finally gets around to releasing people approved for release, he’d have another 68 detainees being held with no specific end in sight.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.