Quote:
Bush acknowledges Guantanamo damages US image
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush acknowledged on Wednesday that the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where three detainees committed suicide, has damaged the U.S. image abroad and said it should be shut down.
But he said a plan for relocating the prisoners was needed first and he was also awaiting a Supreme Court decision about the forum for handling detainee cases.
"I'd like to close Guantanamo, but I also recognize that we're holding some people there that are darn dangerous and that we better have a plan to deal with them in our courts," Bush told a news conference in the White House Rose Garden.
He said Guantanamo is seen by some countries as an example of the United States not upholding the values it espouses on human rights.
"No question, Guantanamo sends, you know, a signal to some of our friends -- provides an excuse, for example, to say, 'The United States is not upholding the values that they're trying encourage other countries to adhere to,"' Bush said.
Two Saudis and a Yemeni were found dead at the prison on Saturday after hanging themselves with clothes and bedsheets.
The suicides were the first prisoner deaths at Guantanamo, although there have been many previous suicide attempts and hunger strikes since the United States began sending suspected al Qaeda and Taliban captives there in 2002.
Guantanamo is one of several issues that have undermined support abroad and among human rights groups for Washington's war on terrorism, declared after the September 11 attacks.
The suicides came amid an investigation of U.S. Marines after an alleged massacre of two dozen civilians at Haditha,Iraq, in November 2005 and after the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.
Bush, who spoke hours after returning from a surprise visit to Iraq, said he was asked about such cases by a member of the Iraqi cabinet. He promised to deal with the incidents.
"And I reminded her that ours is a transparent society where people will see and follow these investigations. And people will be held to account, according to our laws," Bush said.
"But I also want the people to understand, here and around the world, that 99.9 percent of our troops are honorable, decent people who are serving our country under difficult conditions," he added.
Nearly all the prisoners at Guantanamo are being held without charge and some have been detained for more than three years. The 460 foreigners in the prison were captured mainly in Afghanistan during the U.S.-led war there to oust the Taliban and al Qaeda after the September 11 attacks.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on the legitimacy of special military tribunals set up to try some of the prisoners for war crimes. Ten detainees face hearings before the tribunals.
Bush said the United States was also in a difficult position in some cases in which it wants to send prisoners back to their home countries since such moves have been criticized.
"Of course, sometimes we get criticized for sending some people out of Guantanamo back to their home country because of the nature of the home countries -- a little bit of a Catch-22," Bush said.
He added that a lot of detainees have been sent back already.
According to the Pentagon, 287 detainees have left Guantanamo. That includes 192 who have been released and 95 who were transferred to the custody of other governments.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush acknowledged on Wednesday that the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where three detainees committed suicide, has damaged the U.S. image abroad and said it should be shut down.
But he said a plan for relocating the prisoners was needed first and he was also awaiting a Supreme Court decision about the forum for handling detainee cases.
"I'd like to close Guantanamo, but I also recognize that we're holding some people there that are darn dangerous and that we better have a plan to deal with them in our courts," Bush told a news conference in the White House Rose Garden.
He said Guantanamo is seen by some countries as an example of the United States not upholding the values it espouses on human rights.
"No question, Guantanamo sends, you know, a signal to some of our friends -- provides an excuse, for example, to say, 'The United States is not upholding the values that they're trying encourage other countries to adhere to,"' Bush said.
Two Saudis and a Yemeni were found dead at the prison on Saturday after hanging themselves with clothes and bedsheets.
The suicides were the first prisoner deaths at Guantanamo, although there have been many previous suicide attempts and hunger strikes since the United States began sending suspected al Qaeda and Taliban captives there in 2002.
Guantanamo is one of several issues that have undermined support abroad and among human rights groups for Washington's war on terrorism, declared after the September 11 attacks.
The suicides came amid an investigation of U.S. Marines after an alleged massacre of two dozen civilians at Haditha,Iraq, in November 2005 and after the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.
Bush, who spoke hours after returning from a surprise visit to Iraq, said he was asked about such cases by a member of the Iraqi cabinet. He promised to deal with the incidents.
"And I reminded her that ours is a transparent society where people will see and follow these investigations. And people will be held to account, according to our laws," Bush said.
"But I also want the people to understand, here and around the world, that 99.9 percent of our troops are honorable, decent people who are serving our country under difficult conditions," he added.
Nearly all the prisoners at Guantanamo are being held without charge and some have been detained for more than three years. The 460 foreigners in the prison were captured mainly in Afghanistan during the U.S.-led war there to oust the Taliban and al Qaeda after the September 11 attacks.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on the legitimacy of special military tribunals set up to try some of the prisoners for war crimes. Ten detainees face hearings before the tribunals.
Bush said the United States was also in a difficult position in some cases in which it wants to send prisoners back to their home countries since such moves have been criticized.
"Of course, sometimes we get criticized for sending some people out of Guantanamo back to their home country because of the nature of the home countries -- a little bit of a Catch-22," Bush said.
He added that a lot of detainees have been sent back already.
According to the Pentagon, 287 detainees have left Guantanamo. That includes 192 who have been released and 95 who were transferred to the custody of other governments.
