Congress has dealt the Obama administration a number of setbacks in its efforts to close the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. But the just-released National Security Strategy continues to assert that the site will be closed. Page 22 of the document states, "To deny violent extremists one of their most potent recruitment tools, we will close the prison at Guantanamo Bay." National Security Adviser Jim Jones' letter to Congress today, obtained by Marc Ambinder, says critics of the plan to close Gitmo fail to take into account "the assessments of our nation's senior defense officials and military commanders who are leading the war against al-Qaeda."
The news may provide some comfort to civil libertarians and human-rights groups who are growing concerned that Gitmo may yet remain open. Yesterday, at the Alliance for Justice annual luncheon, AFJ President Nan Aron said, "While the administration pledges to close Guantanamo, we cannot erase the stain on America’s actions with just a promise. We need a promise fulfilled."
-- A. Serwer
