Kuwait ruler presses Obama on Guantánamo detainees

Kuwait’s ruler said Friday he asked President Barack Obama to speed the process of releasing two countrymen held at the U.S. military prison at the U.S. Navy base Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Obama earlier this year announced a renewed effort to close the facility, a goal he originally set at the beginning of his presidency in 2009, saying its existence has darkened America’s image abroad while costing the U.S. tens of millions of dollars that could be better spent at home. Congress thus far has thwarted his efforts.

Kuwait’s Sheik Sabah al Ahmed al Sabah said he discussed the continued detention of the Kuwaiti detainees with Obama during an Oval Office meeting “and asked President Obama to speed up the process of releasing them in line with the president’s commitment of closing down Guantánamo.”

Obama did not mention Guantánamo during remarks by both leaders to the media after the meeting. The civil war in Syria topped the list of discussion points, Obama said, adding that they also talked about peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, Iraq and other regional economic issues.

Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said afterward that Obama reiterated to the emir his commitment to closing Guantánamo and stressed that the U.S. shares the goal of seeing the detainees returned to Kuwait.

The governments also agreed to have a Kuwaiti delegation travel to Washington and Guantánamo for further discussions on the matter, she said. No dates were given.

“The United States is committed to remaining engaged with Kuwait on this issue and to achieving the conditions necessary to facilitate the responsible transfer of these two individuals,” Hayden said.

Kuwait’s two remaining prisoners at Guantánamo – Fayez al Kandari, 36, and Fawzi al Odah, 36, – have been accused of belonging to a terrorist group. Kuwait has built a rehabilitation center to reintegrate them into society, but it sits idle.

This story was originally published September 13, 2013 at 9:30 PM.