Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says he’s not sure President Obama can accomplish one of the main goals he has had since he was elected: closing Guantanamo Bay.
“I’m not confident, but I am hopeful. I think we’ll have a good proposal, and I think we’re hoping it wins the support that it needs in Congress so that we can move forward,” Carter said during an interview with CBS News in Tallinn, Estonia, when asked if closing the U.S. detention facility in Cuba could be done before Obama exits the White House in early 2017.
Though Carter said the existence of the facility is “an extra talking point” for Islamic extremists, he also made it clear that not every detainee should be freed.
“[W]e have to be very clear — there are people in Guantanamo Bay who cannot and should not be released because they will return to the terrorist fight,” he said. “And therefore we need a place where we can detain them in the long term. We have been forbidden to create such a place in U.S. territory.”
According to Carter, the Obama administration is currently working on a proposal to present to Congress. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is “receptive” to a proposal that would move certain Guantanamo Bay detainees who cannot be released to another security facility in the U.S., Carter also said.
Overall, Carter said he would like to get rid of the facility, nothing that it’s “very expensive for the Defense Department to operate Gitmo. I would prefer to not have that expense.”
