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The President: Good morning, everybody.
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In our fight against
terrorists like al Qaeda
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and ISIL, we are using every
element of our national
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power -- our military;
intelligence; diplomacy;
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homeland security; law
enforcement, federal,
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state and local; as well as
the example of our ideals as
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a country that's committed
to universal values,
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including rule of
law and human rights.
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In this fight, we learn
and we work
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to constantly improve.
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When we find something that
works, we keep on doing it.
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When it becomes clear that
something is not working as
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intended -- when it does not
advance our security -- we
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have to change course.
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For many years, it's been
clear that the detention
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facility at Guantanamo
Bay does not advance our
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national security
-- it undermines it.
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This is not just my opinion.
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This is the
opinion of experts,
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this is the opinion of
many in our military.
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It's counterproductive
to our fight against
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terrorists, because they use
it as propaganda in their
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efforts to recruit.
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It drains military
resources,
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with nearly $450 million
spent last year alone to
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keep it running, and more
than $200 million in
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additional costs needed to
keep it open going forward
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for less than 100 detainees.
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Guantanamo harms our
partnerships with allies and
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other countries whose
cooperation we need
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against terrorism.
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When I talk to
other world leaders,
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they bring up the fact that
Guantanamo is not resolved.
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Moreover, keeping this
facility open is contrary to
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our values.
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It undermines our
standing in the world.
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It is viewed as a stain
on our broader record of
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upholding the highest
standards of rule of law.
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As Americans, we pride
ourselves on being a beacon
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to other nations, a
model of the rule of law.
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But 15 years after 9/11 --
15 years after the worst
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terrorist attack in American
history -- we're still
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having to defend the
existence of a facility and
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a process where not a single
verdict has been reached in
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those attacks --
not a single one.
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When I first ran
for President,
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it was widely recognized
that this facility needed
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to close.
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This was not
just my opinion.
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This was not some
radical, far-left view.
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There was bipartisan
support to close it.
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My predecessor, President
Bush, to his credit,
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said he wanted to close it.
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It was one of the few things
that I and my Republican
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opponent, Senator John
McCain, agreed on.
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And so, in one of my
first acts as President,
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I took action to
begin closing it.
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And because we had
bipartisan support,
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I wanted to make sure
that we did it right.
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I indicated that we would
need to take our time to do
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it in a systematic way, and
that we had examined
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all the options.
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And unfortunately, during
that period where we were
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putting the pieces
in place to close it,
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what had previously been
bipartisan support suddenly
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became a partisan issue.
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Suddenly, many you
previously had said it
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should be closed backed off
because they were worried
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about the politics.
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The public was scared
into thinking that, well,
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if we close it, somehow
we'll be less safe.
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And since that time,
Congress has repeatedly
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imposed restrictions aimed
at preventing us from
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closing this facility.
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Now, despite the politics,
we've made progress.
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Of the nearly 800 detainees
once held at Guantanamo,
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more than 85 percent have
already been transferred to
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other countries.
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More than 500 of these
transfers, by the way,
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occurred under
President Bush.
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Since I took office, we've
so far transferred 147 more,
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each under new, significant
restrictions to keep them
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from returning to
the battlefield.
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And as a result of
these actions, today,
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just 91 detainees
remain -- less than 100.
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Today, the Defense
Department,
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thanks to very hard work by
Secretary of Defense Ash
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Carter, as well as his team,
working in concert with the
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Office of Management
and Budget, today,
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the Department is submitting
to Congress our plan for
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finally closing the facility
at Guantanamo once and for all.
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It's a plan that reflects
the hard work of my entire
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national security team, so I
especially want to thank Ash
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and his team at DOD.
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This plan has
my full support.
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It reflects our best
thinking on how to best go
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after terrorists and deal
with those who we may
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capture, and it is a
strategy
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with four main elements.
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First, we'll continue to
securely and responsibly
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transfer to other countries
the 35 detainees -- out of
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the 91 -- that have already
been approved for transfer.
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Keep in mind, this process
involves extensive and
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careful coordination across
our federal government to
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ensure that our national
security interests are met
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when an individual is
transferred
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to another country.
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So, for example, we insist
that foreign countries
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institute strong
security measures.
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And as we move forward, that
means that we will have
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around 60 -- and potentially
even fewer
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-- detainees remaining.
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Second, we'll accelerate
the periodic reviews of
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remaining detainees to
determine whether their
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continued detention
is necessary.
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Our review board, which
includes representatives
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from across government, will
continue to look at all
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relevant information,
including current intelligence.
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And if certain detainees no
longer pose a continuing
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significant threat, they may
be eligible for transfer to
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another country as well.
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Number three, we'll continue
to use all legal tools to
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deal with the remaining
detainees still held under
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law of war detention.
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Currently, 10 detainees
are in some stage of the
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military commissions process
-- a process that we worked
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hard to reform in my
first year in office with
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bipartisan support
from Congress.
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But I have to say,
with respect to these
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commissions, they
are very costly,
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they have resulted in years
of litigation
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without a resolution.
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We're therefore outlining
additional changes to
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improve these commissions,
which would require
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congressional action, and we
will be consulting with them
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in the near future
on that issue.
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I also want to
point out that,
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in contrast to the
commission process,
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our Article 3 federal courts
have proven to have an
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outstanding record of
convicting some of the most
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hardened terrorists.
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These prosecutions allow
for the gathering of
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intelligence against
terrorist groups.
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It proves that we can both
prosecute terrorists and
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protect the American people.
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So think about it --
terrorists like Richard
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Reid, the shoe bomber;
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab,
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who tried to blow up an
airplane over Detroit;
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Faisal Shahzad, who put a
car bomb in Times Square;
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and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who
bombed the Boston Marathon
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-- they were all convicted
in our Article III courts
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and are now behind bars,
here in the United States.
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So we can capture
terrorists,
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protect the American people,
and when done right,
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we can try them and put them
in our maximum security
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prisons, and it
works just fine.
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And in this sense, the plan
we're putting forward today
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isn't just about closing
the facility at Guantanamo.
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It's not just about dealing
with the current group of
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detainees, which is a
complex piece of business
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because of the manner in
which they were originally
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apprehended and
what happened.
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This is about closing a
chapter in our history.
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It reflects the lessons that
we've learned since 9/11
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--lessons that need to guide
our nation going forward.
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So even as we use military
commissions to close out the
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cases of some current
detainees -- which,
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given the unique
circumstances of their cases
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make it difficult for them
to be tried in Article 3
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courts -- this type of use
of military commissions
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should not set a
precedent for the future.
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As they have been
in past wars,
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military commissions will
continue to be an option
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when individuals are
detained during battle.
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But our preferred option,
the most effective option
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for dealing with individuals
detained outside military
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theaters, must
be our strong,
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proven federal courts.
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Fourth, and finally, we're
going to work with Congress
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to find a secure location in
the United States to hold
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remaining detainees.
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These are detainees who
are subject to military
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commissions, but it also
includes those who cannot
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yet be transferred to other
countries or who we've
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determined must continue to
be detained because they
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pose a continuing
significant threat
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to the United States.
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We are not identifying a
specific facility today
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in this plan.
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We are outlining what
options look like.
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As Congress has imposed
restrictions that currently
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prevent the transfer of
detainees to the United
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States, we recognize that
this is going to be a challenge.
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And we're going to keep
making the case to Congress
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that we can do this is a
responsible and secure way,
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taking into account the
lessons and great record of
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our maximum-security
prisons.
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And let me point out, the
plan we're submitting today
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is not only the right thing
to do for our security,
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it will also save money.
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The Defense Department
estimates that this plan,
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compared to keeping
Guantanamo open,
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would lower costs by up
to $85 million a year.
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Over 10 years, it would
generate savings of more
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than $300 million.
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Over 20 years, the savings
would be up to $1.7 billion.
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In other words, we can
ensure our security,
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uphold our highest
values around the world,
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and save American taxpayers
a lot of money in the process.
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So in closing, I want to say
I am very clear-eyed about
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the hurdles to finally
closing Guantanamo.
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The politics of
this are tough.
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I think a lot of the
American public are worried
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about terrorism, and in
their mind the notion of
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having terrorists held in
the United States rather
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than in some distant
place can be scary.
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But part of my message to
the American people here is
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we're already holding a
bunch of really dangerous
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terrorists here in the
United States because we
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threw the book at them.
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And there have
been no incidents.
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We've managed it just fine.
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And in Congress,
I recognize,
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in part because of some of
the fears of the public that
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have been fanned oftentimes
by misinformation,
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there continues to be a fair
amount of opposition to
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doing closing Guantanamo.
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If it were easy, it would
have happened years ago --
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as I wanted, as I have been
working to try to get done.
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But there remains bipartisan
support for closing it.
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And given the stakes
involved for our security,
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this plan deserves
a fair hearing.
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Even in an election year, we
should be able to have an
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open, honest, good-faith
dialogue about how to best
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ensure our
national security.
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And the fact that I'm
no longer running,
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Joe is no longer running,
we're not on the ballot --
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it gives us the capacity to
not have to worry
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about the politics.
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Let us do what is
right for America.
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Let us go ahead and
close this chapter,
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and do it right,
do it carefully,
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do it in a way that
makes sure we're safe,
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but gives the next President
and, more importantly,
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future generations, the
ability to apply the lessons
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we've learned in the fight
against terrorism and doing
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it in a way that doesn't
raise some of the problems
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that Guantanamo has raised.
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I really think there's
an opportunity
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here for progress.
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I believe we've got
an obligation to try.
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President Bush said he
wanted to close Guantanamo
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despite everything that
he had invested in it.
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I give him credit for that.
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There was an honest
assessment on his part about
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what needed to happen.
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But he didn't get it done
and it was passed to me.
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I've been working for seven
years now to get
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this thing closed.
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As President, I have spent
countless hours dealing with
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this -- I do not
exaggerate about that.
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Our closest allies
have raised it
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with me continually.
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They often raise specific
cases of detainees repeatedly.
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I don't want to pass this
problem on to the next
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President, whoever it is.
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And if, as a nation, we
don't deal with this now,
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when will we deal with it?
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Are we going to let this
linger on for another 15
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years, another 20 years,
another 30 years?
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If we don't do
what's required now,
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I think future generations
are going to look back and
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ask why we failed to act
when the right course,
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the right side of
history, and of justice,
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and our best American
traditions was clear.
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So, again, I want to
thank Secretary Carter.
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You and your team did
an outstanding job,
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and you've shown great
leadership on this issue.
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With this plan, we have
the opportunity, finally,
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to eliminate a terrorist
propaganda tool,
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strengthen relationships
with allies and partners,
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enhance our national
security, and,
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most importantly, uphold the
values that define us
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as Americans.
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I'm absolutely committed
to closing the detention
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facility at Guantanamo.
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I'm going to continue to
make the case for doing so
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for as long as I
hold this office.
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But this is a good moment
for everybody to step back,
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take a look at the facts,
take a look at the views of
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those who have been most
committed to fighting
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terrorism and understand
this stuff -- our
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operatives, our intelligence
officials, our military.
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Let's go ahead and
get this thing done.
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Thanks very much, everybody.
