Gitmo Inmates May Land on Mainland: Gates

The fate of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay remains unclear, but Robert Gates hinted at one possibility during a Senate hearing today, reports the New York Times: Inmates who aren’t tried, repatriated, or sent to other countries could wind up in the US. Of the 250 “enemy combatants” in custody, the defense secretary said, “what do we do with the 50 to 100—probably in that ballpark—who we cannot release and cannot try?”

“We have put a plug in the budget for $50 million just as a hedge that would allow us to get started if some construction is needed to be able to accommodate those detainees,” said Gates. (More Robert Gates stories.)