Hagel sets own timeline on Guantanamo transfers

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who is under pressure from within the administration of President Barack Obama to step up his pace in approving the transfer of low-level Guantanamo Bay detainees, has told reporters that he will decide soon whether to accept a months-old offer to resettle six prisoners in Uruguay.

But Hagel acknowledged that he had been in no rush to sign off on them. He cited the burden and responsibility of being the one official who, under a legal obligation imposed by Congress, personally must certify that releasing a detainee makes sense.

"My name is going on that document. That's a big responsibility," Hagel said. "What I'm doing is, I am taking my time. I owe that to the American people, to ensure that any decision I make is, in my mind, responsible."

Hagel made his remarks in response to questions by a reporter accompanying him on a flight to Alaska late Wednesday.

They came less than a week after Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, sent a three-page memorandum to Hagel requiring him to "provide an update on progress on detainee transfers every two weeks until further notice," according to an official who read passages of the memorandum to a reporter. Obama has sought to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay since taking office in 2009.

Congress gave the secretary of defense the final say over approving transfers. He must certify that a transfer is in the national-security interest and that steps have been taken to "substantially mitigate" the risk that a detainee could pose a threat to the United States or its allies.

A Section on 05/30/2014

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