Capitol Hill struggles over how to close Guantanamo prison

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/17214.html

Capitol Hill struggles over how to close Guantanamo prison
By Lesley Clark | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — A senior American diplomat acknowledged Thursday that the Guantanamo Bay detention center is a "lightning rod'' for international criticism and a "source of frustration'' for the Bush administration.

But State Department legal adviser John Bellinger told members of the U.S. Helsinki Commission meeting on Capitol Hill that the government has been working with dozens of countries to try to find places to transfer some of the detainees. He said he's traveled around the globe, explaining and defending the detention facility to foreign governments critical of its existence.

"We fully and acutely realize Guantanamo has become a lightning rod for criticism around the world," Bellinger said, defending the camps as housing suspected terrorists ''who need to be detained somewhere.

"We're working to move to the day that Guantanamo could be closed," he said. "But closing Guantanamo is easier said than done."

White House officials said late Thursday that President Bush wants to close the detention facility but that he isn't nearing a decision to do so. They disputed an Associated Press report that said presidential advisers would discuss the issue at a White House meeting on Friday.

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it draws criticism and it "frustrates" Bush

Mary, mother of my friend Edmond.

Fuck people.

without seeming like a failure. Oh, and screw all the people there illegally, for no reason.