The Obama administration is moving closer to shuttering the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a senior Defense Department official said Thursday.
“We are closer to this goal than many people may realize,” Brian McKeon, principal deputy undersecretary of Defense for policy, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
{mosads}He noted that the “vast majority” of detainees have been transferred from the facility and that 54 of the remaining 122 prisoners are eligible for release.
“We believe the issue is not whether to close Guantanamo; the issue is how to do it,” he told the panel.
President Obama in recent months has made a new push to close the controversial facility, aiming to fulfill a campaign pledge before he leaves office.
Senate Republicans warn the detainees could return to the battlefield, and Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others have unveiled legislation that would impose new limits on the president’s ability to release them.
McKeon said the administration opposes that legislation because it would effectively “block progress” on closing the prison.
The Defense official said that Obama has determined closing Guantanamo is a “national security imperative” and noted that recent execution videos by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) showed hostages wearing orange jumpsuits, similar to those worn by detainees at the facility.
He said the proposed GOP measure is unnecessary, stressing that administration is not considering sending prisoners to Yemen due to the instability in the country.
McKeon also pushed backed against a charge made by Republicans in recent weeks that 30 percent of detainees released from the facility have returned to the battlefield.
He said that prior to Obama taking office, 33 percent — 101 of 532 — of the released prisoners were confirmed or suspected of re-engagement. And only 8 percent — 1 of 88 — have done so under the current administration, he said.