Falling Apart

Guantanamo Decays as Closing Delayed

Expected to out-last Obama.

Obama administration officials remain divided over whether the president can (or even should) close Guantanamo prison before he leaves office, but in the meantime the facility is becoming tattered. A floor is buckling in the unit that houses the most notorious detainees, steel supports are corroded in the kitchen building, and poor ventilation is making life difficult for some guards, among other problems. President Obama has argued that the facility should be closed because of high maintenance costs, estimated at almost $3 million per detainee annually. But more than 12 years after the first prisoners were sent there, State Department and some Pentagon officials are split over what to do or how how to proceed.