Guantanamo closing faces big obstacles

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama almost certainly will miss a self-imposed January deadline for closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, authorities said.

U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. acknowledged Friday it would be difficult to close Guantanamo by Jan. 22, the date Obama initially set.

The administration plans to try five terror suspects in federal court in New York and dozens of other detainees have been approved for transfer to other countries.

The fate of the remaining some 200 detainees has yet to be determined and the administration has concluded some will be held long-term without trial, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

"Best of luck trying to finding an American (town) that would be comfortable with the idea" of holding the detainees, said Jena Baker McNeill, analyst with the conservative Heritage Foundation. "There are a lot of people on both sides, not just Republicans, very uncomfortable (about) bringing detainees to the United States."

Current law bans the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo to the United States and congressional lawmakers have said that they will not lift the ban until the Obama administration presents them with a new site.