Pentagon undermines Obamas Guantanamo Policy

File: .jpg (29KB, 596x429px) Image search: [Google]

29KB, 596x429px

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-gitmo-release-special-report-idUSKBN0UB1B020151228

>>Since Obama took office in 2009, these people said, Pentagon officials have been throwing up bureaucratic obstacles to thwart the president's plan to close Guantanamo.

>>Military officials, however, continue to make transfers more difficult and protracted than necessary, administration officials said. In particular, they cite General John F. Kelly, in charge of the U.S. Southern Command, which includes Guantanamo. They said that Kelly, whose son was killed fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, opposes the president's policy of closing Guantanamo, and that he and his command have created obstacles for visiting delegations.

>>Ba Odah, the hunger-striking detainee, is now in his late 30s.

>>The Pentagon has held firm, citing patient privacy concerns.

>>Ba Odah's lawyer, Omar Farah, said the Pentagon's justification is baseless. "Invoking privacy concerns is a shameless, transparent excuse to mask [Pentagon] intransigence," Farah said. "Mr. Ba Odah has provided his full, informed consent to the release of his medical records."