Details Emerge on Obama's Plan to Relocate Gitmo Detainees

Advisers involved in ongoing talks with president-elect Barack Obama regarding the prison at Guantanamo Bay said that a proposal is in the works to ship many prisoners to U.S. soil to face a criminal trial. Obama has been candid about his intention to shut down the controversial prison but had not previously been specific about how he would handle the enormous legal complications of relocating, prosecuting and detaining the hundreds of prisoners currently held there. One of Obama's legal advisers spoke about the proposal to establish a new tribunal system for cases that involve more sensitive, highly classified information, while also aiming for more transparency than the Bush administration's system of military tribunals.

Public support for past government policy of holding suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay without a trial varies depending on survey question wording. While 57 percent support it in one ABC News/ Washington Post poll, a Fox News poll indicates an even split when asked if it's fair to hold accused Taliban or al Qaeda terrorists at Guantanamo Bay without charging or trying them. Responses are similarly mixed when asked if holding prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has made the U.S. safer from terrorism; 34 percent said it has "somewhat" and 45 percent said it has not.