Obama to Close Gitmo, Try Detainees

President-elect Obama's advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the US to face criminal trials. The plan would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice. Under plans being put together in Obama's camp, some detainees would be released and many others would be prosecuted in US criminal courts.

A third group of detainees—the ones whose cases are most entangled in highly classified information—might have to go before a new court designed especially to handle sensitive national security cases. The plan has been championed by legal scholars from both political parties, but is almost certain to face opposition from Republicans who oppose bringing terrorism suspects to the US and from Democrats who oppose creating a new court system with fewer rights for detainees. (More President Obama stories.)