Majority of Americans oppose closing Guantanamo: poll

A majority of Americans oppose the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility as the White House was renewing its effort to close the overseas prison, a poll said on Thursday.

According to the Rasmussen Reports poll, which was conducted after U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled his latest plan to shutter the facility, 56 percent of Americans want the Guantanamo prison to stay open.

Meanwhile, the same percentage say that Guantanamo detainees should not be transferred to the United States and releasing Guantanamo detainees has made the United States less safe.

In 2009 after Obama took office and pledged to close the facility, only 42 percent of Americans opposed closing the facility, said the poll.

Obama on Tuesday unveiled a long-stalled closure plan of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, a move which would certainly set off a fierce clash with Republican lawmakers.

Speaking at a press conference in the White House, Obama said for the 91 detainees currently held in Guantanamo Bay, some would be transferred, and his administration would review the threat posed by detainees who were not eligible for transfers and identify those eligible for military trials. Endit