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Obama seeks support for Guantanamo closure after Senate rebuke

President Obama will seek to regain control of the Guantanamo Bay discussion Thursday with a major address on national security, just a day after a rare bipartisan defeat for the popular president.

The Senate voted 90-6 to strip the $80 million (58 million euros) Obama requested for the closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison from spending legislation for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This sharp rebuke puts Obama in a political tight spot at home and abroad and could get in the way of the fulfilment of his promise to close the prison in the first year of his presidency. Obama signed the executive order calling for the closure on January 22, just days after taking office, proving that he was serious about reversing some of the controversial policies of his predecessor George W. Bush. But now Obama has just months to decide what to do with the 240 remaining inmates, many of whom have not been charged.

Read entire article at Deutsche Welle