Joe Biden administration launches review aimed at closing Guantanamo Bay prison
- Guantanamo Bay was set up to house foreign suspects following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington
- The facility came to symbolise the excesses of the US ‘war on terror’ because of harsh interrogation methods described by critics as ‘torture’
The Biden administration has launched a formal review of the future of the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba with the goal of reviving efforts to close the controversial facility, a White House official said on Friday.
Aides involved in internal discussions are considering an executive action to be signed by President Joe Biden in the coming weeks or months, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, signalling a new effort to remove what human rights advocates have called a stain on America’s global image.
“We are undertaking an NSC process to assess the current state of play that the Biden administration has inherited from the previous administration, in line with our broader goal of closing Guantanamo,” National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said.
“The NSC will work closely with the Departments of defence, State, and Justice to make progress toward closing the GTMO facility, and also in close consultation with Congress,” she added.
Such an initiative, however, is unlikely to bring down the curtain any time soon on the high-security facility located at the Guantanamo Naval Station.
Set up to house foreign suspects following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, the facility came to symbolise the excesses of the US “war on terror” because of harsh interrogation methods that critics say amounted to torture.
