ANALYSIS-Obama faces test on closing Guantanamo | Reuters

ANALYSIS-Obama faces test on closing Guantanamo | Reuters: "WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's pledge to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay is meeting resistance from lawmakers who do not like the idea of housing foreign terrorism suspects in the United States.

His Jan. 22 promise seemed simple enough -- announce a date for closing the detention center at a U.S. Naval base on Cuba, and then work out arrangements for making that happen ahead of the deadline he set for next January.

But some in his own Democratic Party and many opposition Republicans are insisting they do not want any of the 240 prisoners at Guantanamo brought to American soil.

The unfolding drama is a classic 'not in my backyard' debate that is testing Obama's negotiating skills as he seeks to keep his attention on rebuilding the U.S. economy.

'I think that the people who have been held in Guantanamo are being charged essentially for acts of international terror, for acts of war, and they don't belong in (our) judicial system, and they don't belong in our jails,' said Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia on Sunday on ABC's 'This Week.'

The debate over Guantanamo takes place in a politically charged environment as Washington attempts to turn the page on George W. Bush's legacy.

Obama, who took office in January, vowed to close the prison which was set up to house foreign suspects after the hijacked plane attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Monday that Obama was still committed to closing the facility and was confident his timetable could be met.

Obama was criticized last week by his supporters on the left and by human rights groups for changing his mind and deciding not to release photographs said to depict detainee abuse, and for reviving Bush's policy of military commissions to try terrorism suspects.

In addition, the most powerful woman in Washington, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is under fire over what she knew when about Bush-era interrogation policies, such as waterboarding.

Pelosi accused the CIA of lying in response to a CIA report that said she had been briefed in 2002 on interrogation methods that she now condemns but did not at the time. A fellow Democrat, CIA Director Leon Panetta, rejected her charges.

OBAMA SPEECH

"Shadows of the Bush presidency are beginning to fall upon the Obama presidency," said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia. "These leftover controversies are proving to be thorny ones for Obama, Pelosi and the Democrats."

Obama on Thursday will make his case for his national security policies in a speech that the White House said would address the issues of Guantanamo Bay and anti-terror tactics.

An essential element in closing the Guantanamo prison is the $80 million Obama requested to accomplish it. But it has sparked fierce criticism and bipartisan calls for him to submit a plan on the fate of the prisoners before getting the funds.

The House of Representatives approved a bill last week that rejected the money request and would bar releasing detainees into the United States through Sept. 30.

It further bans moving them to U.S. soil for detention or prosecution until two months after Obama submits a report to Congress that addresses his rationale and assesses the risks of the moves.

A Senate bill to be voted on this week would give him the $80 million. But $50 million of it would only be available after the administration provided a plan on how to deal with the detainees and not bring them into the United States.

Senate Republicans, seizing a rare opportunity to force Obama's hand despite being in the minority, will seek several votes on the matter, including on whether the detainees should be brought to the United States.

Lawmakers will have to work out their differences and it was unclear which chamber's provisions would prevail.

"The detainees held at Guantanamo are still some of the most dangerous terrorists alive -- indeed, over the past two years, the inmates there have been winnowed down to an even higher percentage of committed killers than before," said Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Yet Democrats like Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed pointed out that several individuals convicted on terrorism related charges were already housed in U.S. prisons.

"There are notorious terrorists that have been convicted in our courts, under our rule of law, and have been incarcerated now, upwards of a decade, and it has not posed a threat to Americans," Reed said, appealing for patience for Obama's plan. (Editing by David Storey)"