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Defense Secretary Stalls on Gitmo Close

Refuses to decide on prisoner transfers.

President Obama’s longstanding aim to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay has hit a roadblock, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter reportedly has yet to decide on the newest wave of proposed deals to transfer the remaining detainees from the detention center, causing mounting concern in the White House and State Department, officials told the Times. Carter reportedly left a meeting on how to close the prison before the president leaves office without committing to making any decisions on the newly proposed transfers, according to several officials familiar with the deliberations. It was unclear if he signed a National Security Council memo setting a 30-day deadline for him to decide on the transfers. There are 116 detainees remaining at Guantánamo, of whom 52 have been recommended for transfer if security conditions can be met. Most of those 52 are from Yemen, where competing groups are fighting for control.