President Obama is going to make a statement about the future of Guantanamo Bay.
The Pentagon's long-awaited plan to shut down the detention centre will be delievered to Congress on Tuesday.
It is the administration's last-ditch effort to make good on President Obama's campaign vow to close Guantanamo and convince lawmakers to allow the Defense Department to move nearly 60 detainees to the US.
But the plan provides few details, and may only further antagonize members of Congress who have repeatedly passed legislation banning any effort to move detainees to the US.
According to the officials, the US facilities would cost between $265 million and $305 million to operate each year. The annual operating cost for Guantanamo is $445 million, but the officials said the Cuba detention center will need about $225 million in repairs and construction costs if it continues to be used.
The administration is currently prohibited by law from moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States.
Advocates of closing Guantanamo say the prison has long been a recruiting tool for militant groups and that holding extremists suspected of violent acts indefinitely without charges or trial sparks anger and dismay among US allies.
There are currently 91 detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Of those, 35 are expected to be transferred out by this summer.
The rest are either facing trial by military commission or have been determined to be too dangerous to release but are not facing charges. Some can't be charged because of insufficient evidence and some may face future prosecution or have been designated for indefinite detention under the international laws of war.
Seven detainees are in the early stages of trial by military commission, including the five men accused of planning and aiding the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, and three have been convicted and are serving sentences.
At its peak in 2003, Guantanamo held nearly 680 detainees, and there were about 245 when Obama took office.
AP/Reuters
