Pentagon General Counsel is “Committed” to Closing Guantanamo Bay

Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon’s general counsel, reaffirmed the Obama administration’s commitment to closing Guantanamo Bay by January 22, 2010. While Johnson explained the administration was committed to plans for closing Guantanamo Bay, he did not, however, explicitly say that the plans had gained additional momentum or were ensured to happen on schedule.

Part of the dilemma for closing Gitmo, as the prison is often called for short, lies in the legal limbo of the 226 suspected terrorists or enemy combatants held at the prison. Johnson, the Pentagon’s top lawyer, explained to the American Bar Association that transferring the prisoners elsewhere will be difficult. He repeatedly affirmed that the administration “remain[s] committed to doing this […] on the deadline that the president set.” Yet, he added “but there are many challenges.”

Johnson’s statements also indicated that abolishment of the former Bush administration military trials for Guantanamo Bay detainees would end by the end of September, 2009. Ending the secretive military trials is expected to provide greater oversight regarding terrorist-related court cases as well as make closing Gitmo easier for the Obama administration.

Johnson has repeatedly explained that in the process of protecting American citizens from terrorist attack, legal and moral standards must remain upheld. Many prominent lawyers feel that the certain aspects of the Guantanamo Bay prison violate established American legal standards, while conservative lawmakers continue to support Gitmo’s operation.

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