Gates: Deadline To Close Gitmo Won't Be Met

Email Print Twitter Facebook Yahoo! Buzz Mixx MySpace Stumble Digg Google More Destinations

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says trying to close down the detention center at Guantanamo Bay has proved more complicated than anticipated.

 

Gates says "it's going to be tough" for the president to meet his goal of shutting the prison in January. There are difficulties in completing the lengthy review of detainee files and resolving other issues.

Gates says even before Obama took office, he was arguing for a firm deadline to close the facility. Gates says that's the only way to get the Washington bureaucracy moving.

But Gates says he doesn't think it's a problem to push back the date -- as long as there's a good plan showing progress toward closing it. He says he doesn't know whether the deadline will need to be extended.

Gates spoke on CNN's "State of the Union" and ABC's "This Week."

Source: Houston Chronicles

Comments | RSS  |  | More