President Obama: Regrets Not Closing Guantanamo On First Day In Office

Washington Post: Obama regrets not closing Guantanamo on first day in office

President Obama said Wednesday that he wished he had brushed aside Republican objections and closed the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during his first days in office.

Obama's remarks on the controversial prison, which was opened in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, came in response to a seventh-grader's question following a speech at the City Club of Cleveland. She asked what do-over he would like from the first day of his first term as president.

"I think I would have closed Guantanamo on the first day," Obama responded to applause from the crowd. "I didn’t at that time because we had a bipartisan agreement that it should be closed." Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Republican presidential nominee, had also championed closing the facility during the 2008 election.

WNU Editor: At the time many Democrats and Republicans were hostile to such a move. The simple reason being that there were/are dozens of detainees who are just too dangerous to be released and/or the evidence that was obtained would not be enough (or even admissible because of torture) to convict them in a US courtroom (unlike a military trial) ..... detainees like alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his accomplices come immediately to mind.

More News On President Obama having Regrets Not Closing Guantanamo On First Day In Office

Barack Obama regrets not closing Guantánamo Bay when first elected -- The Guardian
Obama: I should've "closed Guantanamo on the first day" -- CBS
Obama's Regret: Not Closing Guantanamo on Day One -- Bloomberg
Obama thinks he should’ve closed Gitmo on first day -- Washington Times
Obama Regrets Not Closing Guantanamo Prison 'On The First Day' -- Huffington Post

The U.S. Wanted A Second Guantanamo-Style Prison On Diego Garcia

The island territory of Diego Garcia, alleged to have been a refuelling point for CIA rendition flights, may have been a potential prison camp site in the War On Terror Photo: REUTERS

Britain 'Discussed' US Request To Build Guantanamo-style Prison On Diego Garcia After September 11 Attacks, Officials Say -- Peter Foster, The Telegraph

As Democrats fight for information about the CIA's secret kidnap and torture programme to be published in a landmark report, The Telegraph has learnt details of America's requests to use British territory of Diego Garcia in network of secret prison sites.

Tony Blair's government discussed a US request for permission to use the British territory of Diego Garcia to house a Guantanamo Bay-style prison camp for up to 500 terrorist detainees, the Telegraph has learnt.

Britain quickly rejected the Bush administration's idea on the grounds that the plan was impractical, but documents suggest the CIA may have still used the island to fly terror suspects to secret "black site" prisons around the world.

The fresh details of US desire to use Diego Garcia in its counter-terror operations emerge as Britain faces renewed questioning over its own support for highly controversial CIA programmes in the years after September 11.

Read more ....

Update #1: US wanted Britain to build 2nd Guantanamo – report -- RT
Update #2: Could the CIA have run a 'black site' detention centre on Diego Garcia? -- The Telegraph

My Comment: Peter Foster's remark that .... Democrats fight for information about the CIA's secret kidnap and torture programme is a bit misleading .... it is the Democrats who are in control of the White House and as a result are in control of the CIA.