WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that the Guantanamo detention center is a well-run, professional facility that will be difficult to close — but he’s still going to do it.
Holder visited the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Monday and spoke to reporters about his trip during a news conference Wednesday.
Closing Guantanamo, he said, “will not be an easy process. It’s one we will do in a way that ensures that people are treated fairly and that the American people are kept safe.”
President Barack Obama selected Holder to lead the new administration’s effort to close the detention facility within a year. Much of the year will be spent reviewing the individual case histories of the roughly 245 inmates, the attorney general said.
Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who is trying to keep Guantanamo open, said he was encouraged by Holder’s remarks.
“I believe as more time goes by, there is a chance the administration will grow to realize that we need Gitmo and must keep it open. More time will allow facts to replace political rhetoric,” said Inhofe, who is pushing legislation seeking to bar any Guantanamo detainees from coming to the U.S.
A bill also was introduced this month by U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, aimed at stopping Guantanamo Bay detainees from being transferred to the federal Supermax facility in Florence.
Supermax already holds several inmates convicted of planning or executing terrorist acts, including 1993 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and Sept. 11, 2001, conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.
U.S. Rep. John Salazar, a Manassa Democrat, also has expressed concern that the facility is underfunded and near capacity, though he hasn’t stated outright opposition to any transfer, said his spokesman, Eric Wortman.
On his visit to Guantanamo, Holder met with military officials and toured the facilities, including the court setting where military commissions were to be held until Obama suspended them.
“I did not witness any mistreatment of prisoners. I think, to the contrary, what I saw was a very conscious attempt by these guards to conduct themselves in an appropriate way,” he said.
