WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump announced in his State of the Union that he would keep open the prison camp on Guantanamo Bay, a campaign pledge that would reverse a long-held policy of the Obama administration.
In recent years, officials have been trying most captured terrorists in U.S. courts, with a high success rate, but Trump signaled that he wants a different policy.
"Terrorists are not merely criminals, they are unlawful enemy combatants," he said, using the military's term for insurgents captured on the battlefield.
"When they are captured overseas, they should be treated like the terrorists they are," Trump said, adding "when necessary we must be able to detain and question them." The announcement drew robust cheers from Republicans, many of whom oppose bringing the detainees to the U.S. for trial.
Once prisoners are in the prison camp, the U.S. has faced tough challenges on finding places to put them. The camp now holds just 41 prisoners and costs more than $440 million a year, and a system of military trials has been plagued with delays.
