Ten more inmates leave Guantanamo prison; 93 remain

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Ten more inmates at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been transferred, the Department of Defense announced Thursday.

The inmates were transferred to the custody of the government of Oman, leaving the population of prisoners, all suspected of terrorism or links to terrorism, at 93.

Emptying the facility of prisoners regarded as extraordinarily dangerous and closing the prison on the grounds of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base has been President Barack Obama's goal since his first inaugural address in 2009. His position is that it has outlived its purpose and is costly to maintain, and referred to it in his State of the Union address Tuesday as "unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies."

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough restated Sunday that the prison would be closed by the end of Obama's administration in January 2017.

"Let me be clear: the president has said from the beginning of this administration that we will close Gitmo (Guantanamo) because it's bad for our national security and because it's too costly -- $4 million per year -- per detainee. That's a travesty," McDonough told Fox News. "He feels an obligation to his successor to close that, and that's why we're going to do it."

McDonough added that Obama will present a plan to Congress and work with Congress, and then will make a "final determination" on a closing date.