White House debates the future of Guantanamo
Brennan Linsley / Associated Press
The Bush administration is locked in an internal debate over whether to present Congress with proposed legislation that would allow suspected terrorists to be held in the United States -- a possible first step toward closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- according to current and former officials.
The officials said the administration was not on the verge of shutting down Guantanamo. But the legislation under debate could make it easier to move some suspects to the United States by lessening the risk that federal courts would set them free in Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., or Charleston, S.C.
Last month's Supreme Court decision granting federal courts the power to review the detention of prisoners at Guantanamo has thrown the administration's detainee policy into doubt. Administration officials have been debating how best to react to the ruling, which restored habeas corpus rights to Guantanamo detainees. This was the third time the high court had rejected the administration's attempts to hold detainees indefinitely without allowing them full access to civilian courts.
The administration would like to keep at Guantanamo the 80 prisoners it intends to try under military commissions and wants to jump-start those tribunals. Uncertain, though, is the fate of an additional 120 prisoners; the military believes they are too dangerous to release but lacks the evidence to try them.
One of the proposals under consideration, according to officials, would allow regular judicial review of those prisoners' detention. The proposal would include legislation ensuring that if a court finds that they should no longer be considered "enemy combatants," they would not be released but could be held while deportation procedures are begun.
Top Bush administration officials met this week to discuss the fate of Guantanamo and to debate various approaches.
On one side are Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who believe that the United States should move to close Guantanamo. On the other side are Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey and Vice President Dick Cheney, who believe that closing the facility is impractical.
Getting any legislation through Congress is likely to be difficult. Republicans may be reluctant to pass anything that moves toward closing Guantanamo, especially if it means moving suspected terrorists to the United States. Liberal Democrats may be reluctant to sanction any sort of long-term detention without trial, arguing that it is an unnecessary infringement of civil liberties.
