TEMPO.CO, Washington - President Barack Obama told Americans that 2014 should be the year in which the Guantanamo Bay detention center is finally shut down.
In his State of the Union address on Wednesday, Obama renewed his old vow—dating back to the start of his presidency five years ago—to close the internationally condemned prison at the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. In his address, he called on Congress to take further action to help him do so.
"This needs to be the year Congress lifts the remaining restrictions on detainee transfers and we close the prison at Guantanamo Bay," Obama said, as quoted by Al Jazeera. "Because we counter terrorism not just through intelligence and military action, but by remaining true to our constitutional ideals and setting an example for the rest of the world."
Obama stopped short of offering any new prescriptions on how he intends to empty Guantanamo of its remaining 155 prisoners. The prisoners held without trial were rounded up overseas. Some are the prime suspects in the September 11, 2001, attacks.
