Obama Administration Plan to Close Guantanamo

This morning, the Department of Defense formally submitted the Obama administration's plan for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to Congress.

The plan is available here.

Upon the plan's submission, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook released a statement saying that the closure of Guantanamo "will enhance our national security by denying terrorists a powerful propaganda symbol, strengthening relationships with key allies and counterterrorism partners, and reducing costs."

The plan does not name a specific facility to house remaining Guantanamo detainees who cannot be safely transferred, and instead calls for a dialog with Congress on the issue. It puts the cost of the facility at $445 million, which is roughly $4.9 million per detainee. The plan also includes a 9-page legal analysis as to whether a decision to transfer detainees to the United States would result in eligibility for "relief from removal from the United States," "any required release from immigration detention," "asylum or withholding of removal," or "any additional constitutional right."

The full plan is below: