WASHINGTON — The White House insisted on Monday that President Barack Obama was determined to close Guantanamo Bay, despite failing to do so by the war on terror camp's 10th anniversary this week.
Obama declared within a few hours of taking office in January 2009 that he would shutter the camp within a year, saying it was used as a recruiting tool for terrorists, and detrimental to US national security.
But in the face of deep opposition in Congress to moving inmates to the US mainland and over the idea of holding civil trials for key Al-Qaeda suspects, Obama has failed to live up to his vow.
"The commitment that the president has to closing Guantanamo Bay is as firm today as it was during the (2008) campaign," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.