Obama orders closure of Guantanamo

President Barack Obama ordered the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison within a year and banned torture in a dramatic repudiation of his predecessor George W Bush's anti-terror policies.

Obama's swift move, on just the second day of his presidency, was the latest sign of his determination to unleash fundamental political reform and will ultimately mean big changes in how the United States handles al-Qaeda suspects.

Americans understood that the waging war on terror could not longer continue with a "false choice between our safety and our ideals," Obama said, as he signed three executive orders reframing how America treats al-Qaeda suspects.

Obama also ordered the shutting down of all CIA 'secret' prisons abroad and commissioned a task force including the secretaries of defense and state and the attorney general to work out what to do with more than 240 prisoners still in the camp.

The panel will assess which prisoners can safely be released, which could be prosecuted under a new kind of judicial process, or which could not be released or tried because the evidence against them is secret or tainted.

Obama's order to close Guantanamo Bay prison was welcomed across the world, but rights groups and legal experts wonder what to do with the 245 detainees still held there.

"This is a terrific start, a giant step on the path to restoring justice," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) after Obama signed three executive orders just two days into his presidency, including one to shutter the controversial prison within a year.

"We are concerned by legal ambiguities in the order to shutter Guantanamo, and some may say the one-year timeline may be too long," Romero added.

Stephen Vladeck, an associate professor of law at American University in Washington, said closing the war-on-terror prison was "a good goal to aspire to... but that only begs the question about what you are going to do with the people who are still held there."

Sharp reversal

The orders signaled a sharp reversal of the controversial Bush administration "war on terror" policies launched in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks which have exposed America to sharp criticism abroad.

Signing the Guantanamo order which also halted any further military hearings of the inmates, Obama said he was setting in place a process by which the camp "will be closed no later than one year from now."

But many of the prisoners could find themselves released a lot sooner, as the order establishes a process to review their cases "with the goal of disposing of the detainees before closing the facility."

"The order sets up an immediate review to determine whether it is possible to transfer detainees to third countries, consistent with national security," a White House summary said.

"If transfer is not approved, a second review will determine whether prosecution is possible and in what forum."

Obama also ordered that those remaining in the prison in southern Cuba, which was opened in January 2002, will from now on be treated under the terms of the Geneva Conventions.

A senior administration meanwhile said on condition of anonymity that one of the orders states that the CIA shall close "as expeditiously as possible any detention facility that it currently operates and shall not operate any such detention facility in the future."

The official also said that the administration could not imagine sending 17 Muslim Uighur inmates at Guatanamo back to China, adding that no detainee would be sent back to a nation where they could face persecution.

Obama, Biden to welcome Hillary

The president also on Thursday signed a memorandum requiring a review of the case of the only "enemy combatant" on US soil, Qatari national Ali al-Marri.

He did not however resolve the question of what to do with terror suspects who have been in Guantanamo for years, some without being charged or facing trial or if and how many would ultimately be prosecuted or released.

More than 800 men and teenagers have passed through Guantanamo since it was opened on Jan 11, 2002, and around 245 remain there.

Some outgoing Bush administration officials rejected accusations tactics used had amounted to torture and argued the camp and US interrogation tactics like "waterboarding" or simulated drowning had yielded useful intelligence.

The flurry of executive orders will cement Obama's fast start to his symbolic first 100 days in office, when a new president's powers and political leverage are at their apex.

Later Thursday, Obama, and Vice-President Joseph Biden were set to travel across Washington to the State Department to greet Clinton on her first day in office.

"I believe with all my heart that this is a new era for America," Clinton told hundreds of diplomats and others at the entrance to the State Department as she showed up for her first day on Thursday.