The following appeared in an editorial in The New York Times:
The Senate voted last Tuesday to give President Barack Obama new leeway to move toward closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In recent months, President Obama has renewed his promise to shut the facility, appointing envoys to find places for prisoners who have already been approved for transfer to other countries and those who may be approved later.
An amendment to the military authorization bill offered by Kelly Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican, would have extended the transfer restrictions that required the defense secretary to go through a cumbersome process to proceed with transfers to foreign countries and extended the ban on transfers to the United States. Her measure got just 43 votes.
There are 164 prisoners at Guantanamo, including 84 who, in 2010, were cleared for transfer to their home country or another willing country. Guantanamo has stained America's commitment to human rights and continues to serve as a potent recruiting tool for America's enemies.
The vote left standing provisions in the fiscal 2014 National Defense Authorization Act that would ease current transfer rules by replacing the onerous certification process and ending the ban on transfers to the United States either for medical treatment or for detention and trial in federal courts instead of the failed military commission system. These changes would not sacrifice national security or public safety.
Even if the Senate approves the defense measure when Congress returns in December, it will be a struggle to preserve the Guantanamo provisions in negotiations on a final bill with the Republican-led House. For now, it is important to applaud the Senate's good sense.
