President Geoge W Bush has hinted for the first time that US may close Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba, amid widespread outrage over reported desecration of Islamic holy text Koran and criticism from rights groups about ill-treatment of detainees there.
"We are exploring all alternatives as to how best to do the main objective, which is to protect America. What we don't want to do is to let out somebody that comes back and harms us," Bush told Fox News Channel on Wednesday night when asked about the prospect of closing the facility, which holds some 540 terrorists and terror suspects.
Bush's comments surprised many in the administration and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld seemed to shoot down the notion, telling reporters flying with him to Europe that he is unaware of any consideration being given to shutting down Guantanamo Bay, the Washington Post said.
"The prison camp has become a symbol of excess for critics of the US around the world since it was opened after the attacks of September 11, 2001," the daily said.
Officials said that no inter-agency meetings have been held or any scheduled to discuss the option.
But the comment by Bush, the supreme federal authority in the US who can overrule any cabinet minister, appeared to be more than an off-the-cuff remark, because White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan used almost identical language in response to the same question at his briefing.
"We are always looking at all our alternatives when it comes to dealing with these detainees," McClellan said.
At one time, Bush had wanted to close the notorious Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq but that decision has now been reversed and it is to be expanded by the new Iraqi fovernment, the Post said.
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