Gitmo Closing May Be Delayed

The latest news on the Guantanamo front is that despite the president’s big promise in January to close Guantanamo Bay within a year, it turns out that just might not be possible, reports The Washington Post with ProPublica. Apparently, it’s been too hard to figure out what to do with the prisoners  the United States does want to release but can’t send home; and it’s even harder to decide what to do with the ones it wants to keep behind bars. In both cases, after been told for the past eight years that these are “the worst of the worst” terrorists, potential host countries and states are balking at the idea that they ought to accept some of the prisoners on their soil.

Meanwhile, White House legal counsel Greg Craig, who initially led the Guantanamo closing drive and drafted the president’s executive order, has been shoved aside to make way for Pete Rouse, a senior adviser and fix-it man, who will reportedly oversee the Guantanamo closing process going forward.

Craig is expected to leave his post at the White House soon.