Obama Administration Drafting Order on Indefinite Detention for Guantanamo Detainees

The Obama administration is drafting an executive order that would call for a regular review process for detainees currently under indefinite detention at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A White House official tells Fox News the draft order "would set up periodic review of the detention status of those detainees who cannot be tried in Article III or military commissions."

They also point to the fact that the President has promised this in the past. "We must have clear, defensible and lawful standards for those who fall in this category," said Obama during a speech in May, 2009. "We must have fair procedures so that we don't make mistakes. We must have a thorough process of periodic review, so that any prolonged detention is carefully evaluated and justified."

During the Bush administration, Guantanamo detainees could appear before military review panels with "personal representatives," military officers who could help explain the process but not act as a defense lawyer.

Administration officials stress that right now this is nothing more than a draft executive order that has not yet reached the President's desk.