Pentagon Gets Ready To Submit Report On Housing Hardened Gitmo Detainees In America

A "non-compliant" detainee is escorted by guards after showering inside the U.S. military prison for "enemy combatants" on Oct. 27, 2009 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Pentagon officials are finishing up a report regarding whichfacilities in the United States seem suitable to house Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Now that the Pentagon has finished surveying the two facilitiesin Colorado, Federal Correctional Complex in Florence and thestate prison in Canon City, the team is set to prepare a reportthat will soon end up in the hands of Defense Secretary Ash Carter,who will then forward it over to the White House, Defense Onereports.

“The assessment team met with facility staffto discuss the existing facilities, engineering considerations,force protection, troop housing, security, transportation,information security, contracting and other operationalissues,â€Â Navy Cdr. Gary Ross said in astatement to Defense One.

Once the White House has a look at the document,it’ll be passed to Congress for consideration,even though Republicans with the exception of GOP Sen. John McCainare ardently opposed to the idea of moving dangerous detainees toU.S. soil. The legislators especially concerned are the ones whosestates have been surveyed for potential facilities. This includesKansas, South Carolina and most recently Colorado.

Guantanamo Bay is a major point of contention between the WhiteHouse and Congress. The annual defense budget bill was met with aveto from President Barack Obama because of additional restrictionsincluded in the bill.

“This legislation specifically impedes our ability toclose Guantanamo in a way I have repeatedly argued iscounterproductive to our efforts to defeat terrorism around theworld,” Obama said at the veto ceremony.

The report is a final attempt to shutter the facility andfulfill Obama’s original campaign promise in2008, as only 15 months are left in Obama’spresidency.

According to CNN, the plan is likely to request a faster transfer pace for thosealready cleared for release. The rest of the detainees, who will bekept in prison indefinitely, will be sent to the U.S. fordetention. But that requires Congress to cooperate and to strikedown a law which bans exactly this practice.

Follow JonahBennett on Twitter