White House rejects plan to close Guantanamo for being too expensive

Washington, Dec 2 (EFE).- The U.S. government rejected a plan by the Department of Defense to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, for being too expensive and sent it back to the Pentagon for revision, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

According to the Journal, the plan was going to cost $600 million, which was considered excessive by the administration led by President Barack Obama.

Of the total amount, $350 million was towards construction of a new prison on U.S. soil for high-risk prisoners, Defense officials told the Journal.

The rejection of the plan presents a new hurdle for Obama before the end of his term next year, as closing the Guantanamo Bay was one of his electoral promises in 2008.

Right from the beginning, however, he met with opposition from the Congress, especially Republicans, who are against transferring the prisoners to United States.

The annual cost of running the Guantanamo prison is around $400 million, while the new proposed prison on U.S. soil would require an annual $300 million, besides the $350 million in construction costs.

On Nov. 25, Obama signed a more than $600 billion defense bill that included restrictions on transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo to United States and that directly affected his goal of shutting down the prison.

In a statement Obama explained his decision to sign the National Defense Authorization Act as it includes "vital benefits for military personnel and their families, authorities to facilitate ongoing operations around the globe."

But "the restrictions contained in this bill concerning the detention facility at Guantanamo are, as I have said in the past, unwarranted and counterproductive," he had added.

The Guantanamo prison currently has a total of 107 inmates, a number significantly lower than the 800 it had when it was first opened by former president George W. Bush after the terror attacks of Sep. 11, 2001 in United States.