Obama blames 'politics' for his failure to close Gitmo

President Obama charged Thursday that history will “cast a harsh judgement” on the U.S. for failing to permanently close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay during his administration, and blamed “politics” for that failure in a letter he sent to House Speaker Paul Ryan on his last full day in office.

“There is simply no justification beyond politics for the Congress’ insistence on keeping the facility open,” he charged. He said lawmakers “who obstruct efforts to close the facility, given the stakes involved for our security, have abdicated their responsibility to the American people.”