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The United States is considering transforming the Guantanamo Bay terrorism prison into a base for a Marines "rapid reaction force" to deal with threats in Central America.
In the first official admission that closure of the camp had entered the planning stage, the base commander, Captain Mark Leary, said regional US Marines commanders have surveyed the site to assess its suitability.
Last week it emerged that the Bush Administration was preparing to empty Guantanamo of its 235 inmates.
