Debate Over Guantanamo's Fate Intensifies

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has advocated closing Guantanamo since he took office in 2006, believing that the detention facility is so tainted by its reputation that it hurts the United States internationally. He has suggested that Congress come up with ideas for solving the problem, but lawmakers have not done so.

"He's very pragmatic and realistic about this and is open to alternatives that would allow Guantanamo to be closed," said one defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the discussions. "But it must be a legal construct that enables the United States, and the world at large, to keep these hard-core terrorists from being able to attack innocent people."

Perhaps most illustrative of the problem is a group of approximately 100 Yemeni detainees who have been held at Guantanamo for years, some of whom have been cleared for release to their native land.

U.S. officials have concerns about Yemen's ability to securely hold those suspected of terrorism, particularly in light of the country's lax handling of suspects in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. Administration officials traveled to Yemen last week to discuss the issue.

Yemen's government says it has designed a repatriation program for former Guantanamo detainees, modeled on a successful effort in Saudi Arabia. "The minister just met with some U.S. officials, and he expressed our readiness and willingness and eagerness to receive the Yemeni detainees now in Guantanamo," said Mohammed Albasha, a spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington. "We are ready to receive all of our detainees tomorrow if they are handed over to our doorsteps."

But so far, U.S. officials are not convinced Yemen is ready. The Bush administration is considering sending home roughly 10 Yemeni detainees who have been cleared for release, perhaps in a matter of days, as a test. The rest will remain in Guantanamo for now, officials said.

Staff writer Michael Abramowitz and staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.