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| In this photo reviewed by the U.S. Military, a Guantanamo detainee opens a cooler in the open yard at Camp 4 detention center on the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009. Under a draft order obtained Wednesday, the Obama administration plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center within a year and halt U.S. military trials of terror suspects held there. |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Associated Press has learned that President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order Thursday to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center within a year and halt military trials of terror suspects held there.
The executive order was one of three expected imminently on how to interrogate and prosecute al-Qaida, Taliban or other foreign fighters believed to threaten the United States.
A senior Obama aide said the president would sign the order on Thursday, fulfilling his campaign promise to shut down a facility that critics around the world say violates domestic and international detainee rights. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the event has not yet been announced.
