The Biden administration has been quietly laying the groundwork to release prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention center and at least move closer to being able to shut it down.
In theory, yes. But even if the U.S. releases all 20 that leaves the question remains about what to do with the rest. There are 10 who are still facing trial by military commission. They include five charged with planning and aiding the Sept. 11 attack.
Bush's defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, famously referred to the men held there as “the worst of the worst,” but many were low-level militants, some had no connection to terrorism at all and few would ever be charged with a crime. President Barack Obama pledged to close Guantanamo upon taking office. But members of Congress resisted the idea of transferring prisoners to the U.S., even to face trial in federal court. The Obama administration created the Periodic Review Board to evaluate prisoners and determine if they could be released without posing a threat to national security. Under Obama, 197 prisoners left Guantanamo.