The commander of the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay believes there is little chance of the controversial facility being closed in the next two years, leaving Barack Obama struggling to achieve his goal of shuttering the jail before he leaves office.
Camp commander colonel David Heath told reporters he thought it was "unrealistic" to expect the prison to close during his two-year posting, which ends in mid-2016.
The closure of the prison, set up to hold detainees from President George W Bush's post-9/11 "War on Terror", was a prominent part of Obama's election campaign in 2008.
Yet attempts to realise his ambition have been thwarted by domestic and international obstacles, leaving the fate of the jail and its prisoners in limbo.
On Wednesday, Heath oversaw the first prisoner release since taking over as camp commander on June 24, with Kuwaiti national Fawzi al-Odah repatriated after 13 years behind bars.
"After practicing it several times, it was good to see we were able to do it," said Heath, who notified al-Odah in person of his release, the first in five months.
A further 79 detainees who have never been charged or tried for any crime have also been approved for release by a special committee.
About a dozen more of the 148 prisoners could be released in the coming few months, a US Department of Defense official told AFP.
But Heath admitted he was sceptical that the camp could close before his posting ends in June 2016, just seven months before Obama's successor is sworn in.
"I think that's an unrealistic hope," Heath said.
