Hagel: Gitmo Closing Will Be ‘Difficult’

Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel believes closing the detainee prison at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba, will be “difficult.” Speaking to National Public Radio in a final interview before his departure, Hagel said he does not favor releasing any detainees from Gitmo unless it can be certain that they would not be able to return to their comrades and resume the fight against U.S. forces and interests. The NPR report cited the Obama administration’s frustration with Hagel’s position on Gitmo as a major reason for his impending departure. “Has there been a slowing of [the release process], which hasn’t always made me popular in some quarters? Yes,” Hagel told NPR. In the interview, Hagel appeared caught in the middle of a tug of war between the White House and Capitol Hill. President Obama promised to close Gitmo when he ran for office. The Republican-controlled Congress does not want detainees transferred to the U.S. As such, closing the facility before Obama leaves office is “going to be very difficult, especially if Congress restricts where these last … detainees go.” Guantanamo still holds 122 detainees, down from 240 at its peak, with 44 having been released since Hagel became defense secretary, according to the NPR report.