US President Barack Obama has said that the continuing existence of the prison facilities at Guantanamo Bay is a “recruitment tool” for extremists and not in the “best interest of the American people”.
"I am going to go back at this. I am going to get my team to review everything that is currently being done in Guantánamo … everything that we can do administratively. I am going to re-engage with Congress to try and make the case that [Guantánamo] is not in the best interests of the American people,
"The idea that we would still maintain forever a group of individuals who have not been tried, that is contrary to who we are. It is contrary to our interests and needs to stop," he said.
"Now that is a hard case to make because I think for a lot of Americans the notion is: out of sight, out of mind. And it is easy to demagogue the issue. That's what happened the first time it came up. I am going back it because I think it is important."
