President Obama is weighing how to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba and what to do with about 240 detainees who remain. The Senate and House voted to deny funding to close the prison and objected to the inmates being transferred to U.S. soil. Here is a primer on the debate:
What is the Guantanamo Bay facility and why is it important?
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, at a U.S. military base in Cuba, has been used to hold suspects that the U.S. thinks were involved with terrorists. Since 2001, an estimated 775 prisoners have moved through the facility, informally known as Gitmo. Of that group, about 420 have been released without charges and at least 70 were transferred to other nations.
The prison became a worldwide symbol of opposition to Bush administration policies and its use of coercive interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, which simulates drowning. In addition, some detainees were tried under a military commission system, which defense lawyers and others called a violation of due process.
On Wednesday, the Obama administration appeared poised to bring one detainee to New York for trial.
What has been Obama's position?
As a candidate, Obama opposed the tribunals and condemned the Bush administration's treatment of detainees. On Jan. 22, 2009, two days after his inauguration, Obama announced that he had signed an executive order to suspend the proceedings and that Guantanamo would be closed within a year.
That ended the dispute, right?
Closing Guantanamo means having to figure out what to do with the detainees. Republicans repeatedly have opposed closing the facility, arguing that it is the best place to house detainees awaiting judicial review.
Republicans and Democrats say they have concerns about relocating detainees within the U.S., and foreign governments are reluctant to take them. In a rare rebuff to Obama, Congress shot down his plans and denied funding to close Guantanamo.
What are the politics of the disputes?
In general, Republicans argue that Obama is soft on security, a frequent theme they used during the presidential campaign. They contend that Obama is unwilling to use tough questioning techniques to get information and that he ignores the danger of moving terrorism suspects to U.S. soil.
The White House counters that such techniques have not been shown to get accurate information because people lie to end the pain. Obama also has argued that "enhanced interrogation techniques" violate American values.
