Closing Gitmo doesn't have to be complicated

Last week, President Obama signed an executive order to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay within a year.

Now we keep hearing how complicated it's going to be.

But it doesn't have to be so complicated.

Earlier this month, the legal experts at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) released a report on how Obama can close Guantanamo in his first 100 days in office.

Here is an overview of the report, as presented on the CCR's website:

This report released by the Center for Constitutional Rights includes the newest and most comprehensive numbers and lists of detainee status by nationality. The three simple steps are: 1) send those can go home home, 2) secure safe haven for those who cannot, and 3) charge those who can be charged and try them in ordinary federal criminal court.

It has been often repeated that closing Guantanamo will be a challenge. The reality is that the restoration of the rule of law to that offshore prison -- and this country -- should be significantly less complicated than the dismantling of the law has been. The time to close Guantanamo is long overdue -- and it can be done in three months.

The new administration must repatriate those who can be released safely, secure safe haven in the United States and other countries for those who cannot be repatriated safely, and prosecute in federal criminal courts those who should be prosecuted. Only 250 of 779 men remain in the prison camp. Most can be returned to their home countries through vigorous diplomacy. A smaller number need to be offered protection in the United States or third countries, many of whom have already begun to come forward to offer help to the new administration. There is no justification for continued detention without trial or the creation of special courts; such proposals would continue the human rights disaster rather than end it.

>> Read the full report. (PDF)