Elisa Massimino Responds to AG Holder’s Remarks on Guantanamo Closure

Washington, DC – Attorney General Eric Holder today said that the Obama Administration will press to close the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba between now and the 2012 Presidential election. In remarks before the European Parliament, he stated, “Some people have made this a political issue without looking at, I think, the real benefits that would flow from the closure of the facility.” Following Attorney General Holder’s remarks, Human Rights First President and CEO Elisa Massimino issued the following statement: “It is good to hear the Obama Administration reiterate its commitment to closing the Guantanamo detention facility and put that commitment on a timeline. It is a move that national security experts agree will make our nation safer. Nobody thought closing the facility would be easy, but it never should have been a political fight. Attorney General Holder’s remarks indicate that the administration is determined to make good on the promise made by President Obama on his second day in office.  To follow through on this commitment, the administration will need to stand up to congressional and political opposition.  A good start would be by issuing a veto threat on legislation, like the Senate version of the defense authorization bill, that threatens to continue the failed policies that have kept Gitmo open.”