Mukasey wouldn’t commit to recommending to President Bush that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility be closed. Shuttering Gitmo, reportedly, was one of Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ first major recommendations to the president earlier this year.
Responding to Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), Mukasey said he’s “not prepared to say, close it… there’s no easy solution.” His concern is figuring out what happens to the approximately 330 detainees still within the island prison. But he did say that “I’m prepared to say we need to get the best advice and the best ideas we can, with the goal of closing it down.” He considered himself in broad alignment with the administration, since Bush said last year that he’d “like to close Guantanamo” but also added a number of caveats.
