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Washington:
President Barack Obama admitted for the first time on Wednesday that the United States would miss the January 2010 deadline he set for closing the "war on terror" prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The US leader also said Americans should not be "fearful" of the prospect that five men accused of masterminding the September 11, 2001 attacks will go on trial in New York City, a notion that has sparked vocal domestic opposition.
"Guantanamo -- we had a specific deadline that was missed," Obama told US-based NBC television, in one of a flurry of interviews he gave in Beijing as his Asia tour winds down.
Obama had vowed during his first week in office in January this year that he would close Guantanamo within a year of taking office, saying that the prison camp does not adhere to US standards on human and civil rights.
The White House has said however that it will continue to push for the facility's closure, and is moving to repatriate some detainees who have been cleared for release while seeking countries willing to provide asylum to others.
Obama also urged Americans to avoid being fearful when it came to putting the alleged plotters of the 9/11 attacks on trial.
The US leader also said Americans should not be "fearful" of the prospect that five men accused of masterminding the September 11, 2001 attacks will go on trial in New York City, a notion that has sparked vocal domestic opposition.
"Guantanamo -- we had a specific deadline that was missed," Obama told US-based NBC television, in one of a flurry of interviews he gave in Beijing as his Asia tour winds down.
Obama had vowed during his first week in office in January this year that he would close Guantanamo within a year of taking office, saying that the prison camp does not adhere to US standards on human and civil rights.
The White House has said however that it will continue to push for the facility's closure, and is moving to repatriate some detainees who have been cleared for release while seeking countries willing to provide asylum to others.
Obama also urged Americans to avoid being fearful when it came to putting the alleged plotters of the 9/11 attacks on trial.
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