A guard talks to a Guantanamo detainee in the open yard in Camp 4 detention center on the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in January.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama‘s commitment to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by next month may be delayed until 2011 because it will take months for the government to buy an Illinois prison and upgrade it to hold suspected terrorists. Full story.

Thoughts?

It turns out a play date will fix everything. For those who missed it, the Pentagon issued a report last week on how to “fix” the prison at Guantanamo. Make no mistake, this is tricky stuff. First of all, most folks don’t think there is anything to fix. That is, it is very well documented prisoners at Gitmo are not abused nor are their rights violated. The problem is there are a bunch of folks who don’t believe that. Never mind of course that countless reporters, Congressmen and aid workers have made continual visits to the prison and never reported any serious violations, the myth continues. Of course, when the President of the United States spouts off about Gitmo it tends to keep the story alive. The fact Barack Obama has promised to close the prison adds to the myth that “something” must be happening there that is out of sorts/Dan Hammes, St. Maries Record-Gazette. More here.

Question: Do you support President Obama’s decision to close Gitmo?