‘THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON August 10, 2016 Mr. Isaiah X. Smith Fort Worth, Texas Dear Isaiah: ‘Thank you for writing. For many years, it’s been clear to our military leaders and intelligence officials that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay undermines our national security. It provides a propaganda too! for terrorists, harms our partnerships with allies, drains hundreds of millions of dollars in military resources, and contradicts the values America stands for. ‘When I first ran for this Office, there was bipartisan support to close Guantanamo, so 1 began that process in one of my first acts as President, Unfortunately, many who previously said it should be closed ended up backing away from that commitment because they were worried about the politics. Still, we've made progress—of the nearly 800 detainees once held at Guantanamo, less than 100 remain. And each detainee transferred since I took Office has been under significant restrictions to keep them from returning to the battlefield. In February, the Department of Defense submitted to Congress our plan for finally closing the facility at Guantanamo, along with a strategy for how to best address terrorists we capture in the future, We'll continue to review the threat posed by current detainees and transfer eligible detainees to countries with strong security measures. We'll use all available legal tools to deal with the remaining detainees, including prosecution in military commissions and in our Federal courts, which have a proven record of convicting the most hardened terrorists. Finally, we're going to work with Congress to find a secure location in the United States to hold the small number of remaining detainees who cannot be transferred or prosecuted at this time. Tam clear-eyed about the hurdles to closing Guantanamo, but given the stakes involved for our security, this plan deserves a fair hearing. I also understand that a lot of Americans are worried about terrorism. We protect our Nation by going after terrorists with all means available to us, including by capturing them, trying them, and putting them in our maximum security prisons. And no person has ever escaped from a super-max or military prison in the United States. I want to be clear that this plan does not include letting known terrorists loose to fight against us or to recruit from our general prison population, and closing the detention facility would not end our ongoing defense operations at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. ‘Again, thank you for writing. I don’t want to pass this problem on to the next President, With this plan, we have the opportunity to eliminate a terrorist propaganda tool, strengthenrelationships with allies and partners, enhance our national security, and uphold the values that, define us as Americans. I'm absolutely committed to closing the detention facility at Guantanamo, and I’m going to continue to make the case for doing so as long as I hold this Office. Sincerely,