Obama reiterates commitment to closing Guantanamo

US President Barack Obama on Monday met with two special envoys tasked with closing detention facility at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, reiterating commitment to closing the infamous prison. According to a White House statement, Obama met with Clifford Sloan, the State Department's Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure, and Paul Lewis, the Defense Department's Special Envoy for the same task, while thanking the two for their work. Obama "reiterated that he remains fully committed to closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and made clear that the Special Envoys have his full support as they work to facilitate the transfer of Guantanamo detainees," according to the statement. "To the greatest extent possible, the Administration will continue transferring detainees who have been cleared to go to other countries and we call again on Congress to lift the restrictions on detainee transfers, which have significantly limited our ability to responsibly reduce the detainee population and ultimately close the facility," said the statement. Guantanamo Bay still holds 164 detainees, most of whom haven't been charged. Obama has been making repeated pledges to close the facility since 2009, but has so far failed to deliver.