US Human Rights Crimes against GITMO detainees to egregious for Obama to risk exposing them through closure

US: Defense Bill Signing Backtracks on Guantanamo
3 January, 2013 – Human Rights Watch

(Washington, DC) – US President Barack Obama’s refusal to veto a defense spending bill restricting detainee transfers from Guantanamo undercuts his pledge to close the prison, Human Rights Watch said today. On January 2, 2013, Obama signed the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), even though his advisers had said they would recommend a veto if it contained detainee transfer restrictions.

“The administration blames Congress for making it harder to close Guantanamo, yet for a second year President Obama has signed damaging congressional restrictions into law,” said Andrea Prasow, senior counterterrorism counsel and advocate at Human Rights Watch. “The burden is on Obama to show he is serious about closing the prison.”

In a statement Obama made along with the authorization act, he criticized Congress for renewing the restrictions he said were intended to “foreclose” his ability to shut down Guantanamo.

“I continue to believe that operating the facility weakens our national security by wasting resources, damaging our relationships with key allies, and strengthening our enemies,” he wrote. However, he claimed the need to sign the legislation, saying the demand for funding was “too great to ignore.” Obama issued a similar statement when signing the NDAA the previous year.

In fact, the NDAA authorizes funding for most Defense Department operations, but it is not essential for the US armed forces to function, Human Rights Watch said. It does not actually fund the Defense Department, but authorizes the allocation of appropriated funds. If Obama had vetoed the 2013 authorization act, last year’s NDAA authorization would still have been in effect. Four of five presidents preceding Obama vetoed a defense authorization act. …more