Secretary of State Antony Blinken is sharing whether the Biden administration will seek to close the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay.
“We believe that it should be [closed], that’s certainly a goal, but it’s something that we’ll bring some focus to in the months ahead,” Blinken told “60 Minutes'” Norah O’Donnell.
The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp was opened under former President George W. Bush’s administration in 2002. Former President Barack Obama sought to close it, but there was bipartisan opposition from Congress.
Former President Donald Trump signed an executive order in 2018 to keep the controversial U.S. prison open, where accused terrorists and enemy combatants have been detained.
According to a report by The New York Times in mid-March, there are 40 prisoners at Guantanamo.
Watch Blinken’s interview below:
Will the Biden administration close Guantanamo Bay? “We believe that it should be [closed,] that's certainly a goal, but it's something that we'll bring some focus to in the months ahead,” says Secretary of State Antony Blinken. https://t.co/UXZlapLYMX pic.twitter.com/UmfZh01gLv
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 2, 2021
Blinken was also asked if he is “prepared” for a “worst-case scenario” with the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan “where the U.S.-backed government fails and the Taliban takes over.”
“We have to be prepared for every scenario,” Blinken responded. “And there are a range of them. We’re looking at this in a very clear-eyed way.”
“But Norah, we’ve been engaged in Afghanistan for 20 years. And we sometimes forget why we went there in the first place, and that was to deal with the people who attacked us on 9/11. And we did.”
He declared, “Just because our troops are coming home doesn’t mean we’re leaving. We’re not. Our embassy’s staying, the support that we’re giving Afghanistan when it comes to economic support, development, humanitarian, that remains.”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently warned the U.S. government “has to focus on two huge consequences” surrounding the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
She noted the first is “the potential collapse of the Afghan government and a takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.” Clinton also said, “The second big set of problems revolves around a resumption of activities by global terrorist groups, most particularly Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.”
