Equitable distribution of Gitmo inmates encouraged

A high-ranking Pentagon official said on Wednesday that closing the military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay is “easier said than done.”

“We all have to step up and make the right choices,” Michèle Flournoy, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters at a defense writers group.

{mosads}Flournoy was referencing the growing skepticism and unwillingness in Congress to imprison a good number of the military detainees in the United States. She argued that many lawmakers have called for the closure of the controversial facility at Guantanamo and urged them to take a “more strategic view” of the issue.

Democrats on Tuesday dealt a serious setback to President Obama when they decided to strike the $80 million he requested for the closure in the war-spending bill for the remainder of fiscal 2009. And with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) upfront, Democrats so far want to ban the transfer of detainees to the United States.

Obama is poised to offer some more details on his plans to close the military detention facility in Cuba in an effort to win back at least the support of his own party on one of the highest and most symbolic priorities of his presidency.

However, Flournoy acknowledged that determining the situation and way forward for each detainee currently held at Guantanamo is going “to be very challenging.”  She indicated that each case may be different and the issues would have to be resolved on an individual basis.  “You have to go case by case,” she said.

About 240 detainees are currently held at Guantanamo. Recently, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that about 100 of these detainees will likely have to be moved to the United States.

{mosads}The Obama administration had hoped that U.S. allies would take a good number of the detainees. So far, only Britain and France have received one prisoner each.

Last month, Attorney General Eric Holder said that he was “pleasantly surprised” at the willingness of some European allies to take Guantanamo prisoners. He also said that the Obama administration was close to making formal requests to European countries to take prisoners.  Europe praised Obama’s decision to close the prison.

Flournoy on Wednesday underscored the hope that allies would take a good number of prisoners, but stressed that there will be some prisoners that may have to end up in the United States.

“When we are asking allies to do their fair share, we have to do our fair share,” she said. “I am optimistic that all of us [Europe and the United States] will take more than we have agreed to so far.”

President Obama and his administration now face a real test in trying to navigate both a politically and logistically difficult situation in the span of just several months.

Obama already is in hot water for his decision to revive the Bush-era military tribunals to prosecute some detainees and his decision not to release more photos detailing abuse of military detainees.

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