Rice says U.S. can't close Guantánamo [View All]

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.S. would be delighted to close the Guantánamo Bay prison, but cannot until settling the fate of ''hundreds of dangerous people'' held there.
''We cannot be in a situation in which we are just turning loose on helpless populations or unprotected populations people who have vowed to kill more Americans if they're released,'' Rice said today in an appearawnce on Fox News Sunday.

About 460 men the Pentagon describes as suspected al Qaeda and Taliban fighters are detained at the U.S. Navy Base in southeast Cuba, most for more than four years; 10 have been charged with war crimes.

''Obviously, we don't want to be the world's jailer. We will be delighted when we can close down Guantánamo,'' Rice told Fox TV.
``But I would ask this: If we do close down Guantánamo, what becomes of the hundreds of dangerous people who were picked up on battlefields in Afghanistan, who were picked up because of their associations with al Qaeda?''

President George W. Bush has said he is waiting for a Supreme Court ruling on whether inmates can face military tribunals before he considers whether to close the facility.

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