Americans Do Not Want Gitmo Closed

Americans are strongly opposed to shutting the doors of the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and moving terrorism suspects to detention centers in the U.S., according to a recent poll.

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll released Tuesday found that those surveyed oppose the closing of Guantanamo by more than 2-1.

By more than 3-1, respondents oppose moving the detainees to prisons within the U.S., according to the poll.

President Obama signed an executive order in January to close within a year the prison at Guantanamo. But critics charge that Obama has jeopardized U.S. national security by deciding to close Guantanamo by January 2010. Former Vice President Dick Cheney has publicly defended harsh interrogation techniques practiced at Guantanamo, claiming they helped obtain useful information.

The poll surveyed 1,015 adults by phone from Friday through Sunday, and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.