Bush Could Decide by Weekend to Close Gitmo

President Bush could decide by Saturday to close Guantanamo Bay as a prison for high-value detainees, insiders tell ABC. There is “generally wide agreement” among Bush's top advisers—Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates among them—that Gitmo should eventually be shuttered, but the landmark recent Supreme Court decision undermines the central reason to keep prisoners on the Cuban base—to prevent access to courts.

High-level officials say the ruling changes everything for the 260 detainees, and discussions about their future have “escalated” over the past week. Whatever the legal changes are (they’re as-yet undetermined, ABC cautions), Bush will soon be forcing Congress to put together a new, habeas corpus-friendly solution. (More Guantanamo Bay stories.)