No new deadline for closing Guantanamo: Obama

President Barack Obama says he won’t set a new deadline for closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison, but does expect the facility to shut down sometime next year.

The administration no longer feels it can meet the January 2010 deadline Obama set for its closure soon after taking office. Mr. Obama says he isn’t disappointed about missing the deadline, but has realized that things move slower in Washington than he expected.

Mr. Obama says the timeline for closing Guantanamo will depend on cooperation from Congress. About 220 detainees remain there, and the administration must decide how to prosecute some in U.S. courts and turn others over to other countries.