Obama has signed a defense policy law that relaxes restrictions on the transfer of detainees at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to other countries.
In crediting Congress for relaxing the aforementioned restrictions, Obama released a statement, which read, “Since taking office, I have repeatedly called upon the Congress to work with my Administration to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The continued operation of the facility weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners and emboldening violent extremists.”
While this law speeds up the process of sending detainees to their home countries, the ban which prevents the transfer of detainees to facilities within the United States still remains.
Closing down Guantanamo Bay has been a priority of Obama ever since he took office in 2008 and remains one that he will stay committed to until the end of his second term. However, with Congress repeatedly adding obstacles to any progress in this area, all his efforts have so far been futile.
After these developments, Obama also requested that Congress lift the ban on transferring detainees to US soil as a number of terrorism suspects have been tried successfully in federal courts in the past.
Yet despite some of the restrictions being lifted, the process of sending detainees back to foreign countries will remain slow – particularly that of Yemen, considering how the nation is regarded as a hub for Al-Qaeda.
Obama signed the law at his vacation home in Kailua, Hawaii where he has been spending time with his family.