Gitmo closing in flux: No definite plan, says Obama aideGitmo closing in flux: No definite plan, says Obama aide

Tuesday, November 11th 2008, 12:15 AM

A U.S. trooper jogs the tent city next to Camp Justice, the legal complex of the U.S. Military Commissions, at Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba.

WASHINGTON - Team Obama reportedly wants to turn out the lights in Guantanamo Bay's notorious terror prison, but the President-elect's aides say no plan has been approved yet.

One of the few national security issues that Obama agreed on with his GOP opponent John McCain during the campaign was that Gitmo was a blight on America's rep and ought to be shut down.

The Democratic nominee argued that the nation's image was hurt by the indefinite detentions of Taliban and Al Qaeda suspects there and reports of abuses.

But Monday, Obama senior foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough denied reports the incoming commander in chief had signed off on moving most of the detainees to U.S. soil for federal criminal trials. "There is absolutely no truth to reports that a decision has been made about how and where to try the detainees," McDonough said in a statement. "There is no process in place to make that decision until [Obama's] national security and legal teams are assembled."

At the White House, Bush's spokeswoman said closing Gitmo is easier said than done.

"It's not so easy just to say that you're going to close Guantanamo Bay," Dana Perino said. "It is complicated."

Perino said 7% of the 520 detainees already set free have rejoined the fight.

At the Pentagon, one official involved in detainee policy said Obama aides have not advised the military what they plan to do.

Human rights activists reacted cautiously to Obama's plans.

The American Civil Liberties Union - which funds the defense of some Gitmo prisoners, including men accused of involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks - welcomed Obama's move on the controversial issue.

But one ACLU official told the Daily News the organization won't be thrilled if Obama sets up special national security courts or shifts detainees to the primitive prison at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

"Guantanamo may be a very important symbol for President Obama to close. But if he closes it in a way that perpetuates the wrongs ... none of us have won anything," said ACLU legislative director Caroline Fredrickson.

Elisa Massimino, director of Human Rights First, which does not represent detainees, said Gitmo can close within a year through transfers, but "there has to be an incremental approach.