Guantanamo closure nears

Obama's top advisers have reportedly been debating the best approach to closing the facility in Obama's final 18 months as president behind the scenes. Photo / AP

Obama may get wish as White House battles opposition from US Defence Department.

The White House has announced that it is finalising a plan to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.

A spokesman said it was in America's national security interest to close the facility, which was opened by the Bush Administration after the September 11 attacks to house detainees swept up in the "war on terror".

The White House said it was trying to close the camp hours after the New York Times reported that the US Defence Department was resisting pressure from within the Administration to speed up moves to close the facility in northwestern Cuba.

The spokesman said the plan was in its "final stages", although it will then have to be submitted to Congress, where previous attempts to close Guantanamo have met stiff resistance.

The continued existence of the camp has been a thorn in the side of President Barack Obama who promised to close the camp while campaigning for president, but was thwarted by Republicans in Congress who blocked the transfer of detainees to the mainland.

The facility was opened in January 2002 as a site to hold and interrogate terrorism suspects, including those involved in planning the September 11 attacks, but swiftly became infamous for its treatment of inmates.

A total of 116 detainees are currently held at Guantanamo, of which 64 are considered too dangerous to be released. The other 52 have already been recommended for transfer, but arrangements must be reached with countries willing to accept the inmates on their soil.

Among the detainees still in legal limbo on the island is Shaker Aamer, a Saudi-born British citizen who has twice been cleared for release, by the Bush Administration in 2007, and by Obama in 2009.

Aamer's continued detention is a source of embarrassment for British authorities who have made repeated representations for the 46-year-old to be freed.

Obama's top advisers have reportedly been debating the best approach to closing the facility in Obama's final 18 months as president behind the scenes.

Hurdles to closing the camp

• National Security

Closing the camp requires safely relocating its 116 detainees. Previous relocations have seen fighters returning to the battlefield and the US would want to avoid a former inmate attacking the mainland.

• US Congress

The Republican-controlled US Congress has blocked any federal funding to transfer detainees to the US mainland where they could be held in a maximum security prison and put on trial. A vote on the issue last year fell along party lines.

• Legal issues

Many detainees face vague conspiracy charges based on hearsay evidence that would probably be inadmissible in a US federal court. Holding detainees in open-ended detention on the US mainland is opposed by human rights groups.

• Public opinion

Following the rise of Isis and the beheading of Western hostages in Syria and Iraq this year, sympathy for the plight of detainees has lessened, increasing political risk for Obama of a release going wrong.

• International help

The Administration needs more countries prepared to take detainees who are willing to guarantee both their security and that the won't be tortured by governments with poor records on the use of torture.