Obama relents on bringing Gitmo detainees to the U.S.
The Obama administration is relenting on a proposal to transfer some detainees held at Guantanamo Bay who have been cleared for release to the U.S., the Washington Post reports.
The news comes as President Obama continues to move forward with his plans to close the prison by next year. Where the more than 200 detainees currently held there will be transferred has been one of the biggest road blocks for Obama in that process.
The Post also reports that four Chinese Muslim detainees – or Uighurs – were transferred to Bermuda on Thursday. Two other detainees were also transferred out of Gitmo on Thursday.
Also of note, the U.S. is negotiating sending nearly 100 Yemeni detainees to Saudi Arabia.
Obama, of course, has been under significant pressure to deliver a plan to Congress concerning where the detainees at Gitmo will be transferred. The Senate, including most Democrats, opposed a war funding bill that including money for closing Gitmo on the grounds that it wasn’t clear what will be done with the detainees.
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