U.S. studies prisons for detainees

Kansas, S.C. lockups draw 2nd look to replace Guantanamo

 In this Nov. 21, 2013, file photo reviewed by the U.S. military, dawn arrives at the now closed Camp X-Ray, which was used as the first detention facility for al-Qaida and Taliban militants who were captured after the Sept. 11 attacks at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.
In this Nov. 21, 2013, file photo reviewed by the U.S. military, dawn arrives at the now closed Camp X-Ray, which was used as the first detention facility for al-Qaida and Taliban militants who were captured after the Sept. 11 attacks at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.

WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department is taking another look at the military prison in Kansas and the Navy Brig in South Carolina as it evaluates potential U.S. facilities to house detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, part of the Obama administration's push to close the detention center.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said a team was surveying the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth on Friday and will do a similar assessment at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston later this month. Davis said the team will assess the costs associated with construction and other changes that would be needed to use the facility to house the detainees as well as conduct military commission trials for those accused of war crimes.

The closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center has been a top priority for President Barack Obama, who pledged on his first day in office to shut it down. But that effort has faced persistent hurdles, including staunch opposition from Republicans and some Democrats in Congress and ongoing difficulties transferring out the dozens of detainees who have been cleared to leave.

Officials have to identify countries to take the detainees and must get assurances they will be appropriately monitored and will not pose a security threat.

About 52 of the 116 current detainees have been cleared for release, but Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and his predecessors have made it clear they will not release any detainees until they have all the needed security assurances. The remaining 64 have been deemed too dangerous to be released.

The latest surveys come a week after a draft Pentagon plan to provide potential locations for the detainees was stymied when the administration said the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois was off the table, according to officials.

The officials said that early versions of the Pentagon report had made it clear that Thomson and Charleston were the most viable choices based on costs and the timeline needed to renovate the facilities to the maximum security levels required. Officials have acknowledged, however, that there were divisions within the Pentagon and across the administration over which military and federal facilities to highlight and how many options to assess and include in the report.

At the Aspen Institute's recent national security conference in Colorado, Lisa Monaco, Obama's homeland security adviser, said the administration wants to move out the 52 detainees. But, she added, "That doesn't mean just unlocking the door and having someone go willy-nilly to another country. It means a painstaking establishment of security protocols that would govern the transfer of that individual."

Davis said that there are other sites, in addition to those in Kansas and South Carolina, that the team will visit.

He said the assessments will cover a range of factors, including the costs associated with holding the additional detainees, holding the military trials, engineering and construction, force protection, housing for troops and security. Transportation and other operating issues also are factors.

Lawmakers from Kansas on Friday denounced the survey.

In a letter to Carter, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said he has consistently objected "to the idea of moving these terrorists to the mainland, and more especially to Kansas."

He said Leavenworth is not the right location because it sits on the Missouri River, "providing terrorists with the possibility of covert travel underwater and attempting access to the detention facility."

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said, "Terrorists should not be living down the road from Fort Leavenworth - home to thousands of Army soldiers and their families, as well as military personnel from across the globe who study at the Intellectual Center of the Army."

Meanwhile Friday, the Obama administration urged a federal judge not to order the release of a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay who has been on hunger strike for more than eight years and is described by his lawyers as being at risk of imminent death.

Justice Department lawyers argued against the immediate release of Yemeni prisoner Tariq Ba Odah in a sealed court filing delivered to a court in Washington just ahead of a deadline.

A Justice Department statement said the filing is sealed because it deals with a detainee's medical records and a public version will be released later.

Ba Odah, 37, has been held at the U.S. military base without charge as a suspected affiliate of al-Qaida since January 2002. He has been cleared for transfer back to his homeland, but no prisoners are being sent to Yemen because of instability there.

He has been on hunger strike to protest his indefinite confinement since February 2007 and has been force-fed liquid nutrients to prevent him from starving to death. Still, his weight has dropped to around 75 pounds, said Omar Farah, an attorney with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights who represents him.

Information for this article was contributed by Deb Riechmann, John Hanna and staff members of The Associated Press.

A Section on 08/16/2015

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