Doubts over Gitmo closing in January 2009
US President Obama may not be able to meet his stated goal of closing the much-criticised Guantanamo Bay prison by January as his administration runs into daunting legal and logistical hurdles in moving the more than 220 detainees still there to somewhere. Anywhere. Senior administration officials acknowledge now that difficulties in completing the lengthy review of detainee files and resolving other thorny questions mean the president's promised January deadline may slip. Obama’s pledge to shut down the prison was one of his first acts as president and he proudly told the UN General Assembly so last week. The US military prison in Cuba was created by former President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks as a landing spot for suspected al-Qaida, Taliban and foreign fighters captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
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