White House says still 'committed' to closing Guantanamo

The White House said that it maintains its compromise to close the Guantanamo Bay Prison despite the decision to try those accused of orchestrating the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the controversial detention centre.

“We’re still committed to closing Guantanamo because it’s in the interest of national security,” said Jay Carney, White House spokesman.

The decision is based on what “military leaders have said and what earlier administrations have said before the arrival of the current president,” said Carney.

“It’s obviously an on-going process,” he added.

Barack Obama’s administration announced yesterday that the trials for those accused of masterminding the September 11 attacks will be held before a military tribunal at Guantanamo.

When Obama took office in 2009, he promised to close the centre, considered by critics as a symbol of excess “in the war on terror” led by ex President George W. Bush.

However, Obama has not met his aforementioned deadlines, due in large part to pressure from the US Congress, where lawmakers are firmly opposed to trying the accused on US soil.

US Secretary of Justice Eric Holder was hoping to try Jalid Sheij Mohammed, considered one of the masterminds behind the attack, at a court in New York, near Ground Zero.