Afghan Bagram Prison Could Become the New Gitmo

Published November 17, 2014

The American detention center at Bagram in Afghanistan could be the answer for U.S. military officials searching for a place to detain terrorist suspects after the Guantanamo Bay prison closes.

The new maximum security facility in Bagram is being discussed as officials work on a long term detainee policy, sources told Fox News. Bagram's facility, located north of Kabul, could hold approximately 300 prisoners. Lawyers with the military commissions have discussed the prospect of a transfer, sources told Fox News.

President Barack Obama vowed to close Guantanamo Bay within a year of taking office. The continued use of the prison has presented the Obama administration with an embarrassing dilemma because of the difficulty of finding alternate facilities to house suspected terrorists.

Top American commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has expressed opposition to the potential plan.

Sending Al Qaeda suspects detained in countries such as Yemen and Somalia to Bagram would be highly controversial, the Times of London reported.

"No one particularly likes any of the choices before us right now, but Bagram may be the least bad among them," a senior Pentagon official told the Times of London.

Click here for more from the Times of London

Fox News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

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