Anyone Want a Terror Suspect?

Jan. 23, 2008— -- With the simple stroke of his pen, President Obama reversed one of the most controversial Bush administration policies Thursday.

He ordered the close of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within one year. But the biggest political and logistical question remains wide open: Once Guantanamo is shuttered where will the detainees go?

The executive order to close the prison, at which detainees accused of terrorism have been held -- many for several years and without trial -- was one of a raft of measures the new president signed that will shut down secret CIA interrogation camps and restrict the use of harsh interrogation methods.

The order calls for a review to determine whether the Guantanamo inmates should be released and transferred to their countries of origin or to third countries, or whether they should be held and tried on U.S. soil.

That directive, however, raises a host of questions, among them: Who should conduct those reviews? What types of courts -- civilian or military -- should handle the trials? Is evidence obtained through torture admissible? And should the United States send detainees to countries in which they might be tortured?

"If they are released or transferred, I think we're talking about re-immigration or sending them abroad," said Sarah Mendelson, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Decision makers in Europe are talking about a willingness to accept people. There is going to have to be an extended conversation between the State Department and various governments about how this will happen."

Soon after Obama signed the order, some European leaders signaled a willingness to take some of the detainees, the first of whom were captured in Afghanistan and brought to Guantanamo soon after the United States went to war with the Taliban after Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"There has been a clear consensus throughout on the need to close this detention center," said Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, in a letter to the European Union. "We should send a clear signal of our willingness to help the U.S. government in that regard, namely through the resettlement of detainees. As far as the Portuguese government is concerned, we will be available to participate."