President Barack Obama is insisting that his administration still close the prison camps at Guantanamo in 2010 despite the missed Jan. 22 deadline, National Security Adviser James Jones said Sunday, predicting closure by summer.
"We won't meet the target date, unfortunately,'' the retired general said in an interview broadcast on CNN's State of the Union.
"I think the important thing is that it's moving in the right direction,'' he said. "The president is still insisting that we will close the facility, and we're working on finding new solutions.''
Congress has thrown obstacles in the way of closure, notably first blocking wholesale transfer to U.S. soil then later imposing new restrictions on which of the 211 detainees now held there might be moved from the base in southeast Cuba -- and to where.
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It has been insisting, for example, that its funds be used only for the transfer of detainees bound for trial in the United States, not indefinite detention without charge.
CNN's John King could not get Jones to commit to a specific new deadline but, when pressed, Jones said he expected the camps emptied within six months.
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