Bush administration debating Gitmo future

WASHINGTON, June 22 (UPI) -- The Bush administration is again discussing how to shut down the U.S. prison at the Guantanamo naval base, The New York Times said Friday.

Citing administration officials, the newspaper said some members of the Cabinet believe Guantanamo hurts the country's image and that keeping it open is making the war on terror more difficult.

President George W. Bush has said he wants to close Guantanamo but does not believe it will be possible in the immediate future.

About 400 detainees remain at Guantanamo. The site was chosen because it is not inside the United States.

A meeting on Guantanamo scheduled for Friday was canceled because of a news report earlier in the week. Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council, released a statement Thursday night.

"The president has long expressed a desire to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and to do so in a responsible way," he said. "A number of steps need to take place before that can happen, such as setting up military commissions and the repatriation to their home countries of detainees who have been cleared for release."