Speculation Builds that Guantanamo Bay Prison Will Be Closed While Obama Advisers Start to Lower Expectations on Investigations

There was more speculation this weekend that Guantanamo Bay would be closed under President Barack Obama. However, there are also reports that some of this closest legal advisers are balking at the notion of serious investigations of abuses and torture under President Bush — a position previously voiced by close Obama adviser Professor Cass Sunstein during the campaign. I will be discussing the issue tonight on Countdown.

Advisers reportedly have drafted a plan to close the Guantanamo Bay facility. However, there remains speculation as to the details and the willingness of the Obama administration to pursue criminal allegations of torture and possible war crimes. Democrats are floating a trial balloon of another commission to see if supporters would be satisfied with a “study only” approach that did not involve actual criminal investigation components.

We have already seen many professors who criticized the Bush Administration start to caution against taking a “purist” approach. That is a bad sign, since the “pragmatic approach” generally means a policy driven more by politics and principle.

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