Trump faces Guantnamo Bay decision that could undermine fight against Isis
Source: Guardian
- Monday deadline for Mattis review on Cuba detention camp
- Sending Isis prisoners could destroy legal basis for fight
Ed Pilkington
@edpilkington
Mon 30 Apr 2018 17.10 EDT First published on Mon 30 Apr 2018 07.19 EDT
The defense secretary, James Mattis, has until end of play on Monday to produce new proposals for the future of the military detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, including the possibility of sending new captives to be held at the controversial base.
In January, Mattis was given a 90-day deadline to carry out a review of how military captives and terrorist suspects are handled. The deadline, 30 April, formed part of Trump’s executive order that instructed officials to keep Guantánamo open, overturning Barack Obama’s aim to close it.
As part of the January order, Trump instructed Mattis to come up with new policies “regarding the disposition of individuals captured in connection with an armed conflict, including policies governing transfer of individuals to US Naval Station Guantánamo Bay”.
It is not known whether the White House or Pentagon intend to make the review public, or how quickly any new policies might be implemented. A department of defense spokeswoman, Commander Sarah Higgins, said they were in the “final stages of providing a recommendation to the White House” regarding the review, but she did not specify when that would happen nor whether it would be kept secret.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/30/donald-trump-guantanamo-bay-mattis-review-isis
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