Washington – U.S. Defence Secretary, Ashton Carter on Monday called on Congress to allow the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to US soil to facilitate the closure of the military prison in Cuba.
Carter favours the transfer of some detainees to the United States if they cannot be handed over to other countries under a plan unveiled by President Barack Obama last week.
Carter told a news conference at the Pentagon he hoped Congress would consider the plan favourably “because this would be a good thing to not pass on to a future
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Obama first announced plans to close the facility when he took office in 2009, and 147 detainees have been transferred out of the prison since then. The prison still houses 91 detainees.
The facility, located on a US naval base on the island, has housed terrorist suspects since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (dpa/NAN)