Obama facing tough decisions on Guantanamo

Stay Connected

Carol Rosenberg | The Miami Herald

The president got a standing ovation at Congress this week for reiterating his pledge to empty the prison camps at Guantanamo Bay. What he didn't mention is that some tough decisions still await.

Some on Capitol Hill and the human rights community seek a Truth Commission with subpoena power to examine U.S. detention policy worldwide. Others want the government to widen a Bush era probe into the CIA's destruction of interrogation videos.

One month into the Obama administration, Attorney General Eric Holder made his first visit to the base as he figures out where to move the 240 or so detainees -- who range from alleged al Qaeda arch-terrorists snatched around the globe to suspected foot soldiers seized in Afghanistan.

''It's going to take us a good portion of that time to look at all of the files that we have to examine, until we get our hands around what Guantanamo is, and also what Guantanamo was,'' Holder told reporters Wednesday.

Read this story on MiamiHerald.com

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

We welcome comments. To post one, you must sign in using either your McClatchyDC login or your login for Facebook, Twitter or Disqus. Just click the appropriate box below.

Please keep your comment civil, short and to the point. Obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. If you find a comment abusive or inappropriate, please flag it for the moderator by placing your cursor on the comment, then clicking the "flag" link that appears. Thanks for your participation.