Cheney Deflects Calls to Close Gitmo

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday there are no plans for now to shutter the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay where terrorism suspects are held.

"The important thing here to understand is that the people that are at Guantanamo are bad people," he said.

"I mean, these are terrorists for the most part. These are people that were captured in the battlefield of Afghanistan or rounded up as part of the al-Qaida network," he said in an interview to be aired Monday on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes."

Human rights activists and some lawmakers — mostly Democrats — are pressing for the prison's closure because of allegations of torture and abuse of detainees. President Bush has said his administration is "exploring all alternatives" for detaining the prisoners.

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