report. >> this is the white house and we are watching the lecturn inside the roosevelt room. let's go there. now you see it. president obama is expected to step up and tell the nation exactly how he plans to close the prison that houses some of the most dangerous men our military has captured on the battlefield fighting terrorists. we knew the details would be coming and here's what we're watching for today. how will president obama shut down the detention center at guantanamo bay in cuba? from the fox news world headquarters in new york, i'm harris faulkner. president obama has said he would close the facility. it was one of his first promises to do in office. but seven years later the prison remains open. here's the sticking point for the president. who will take these final 91 inmates? we know some countries have been talked about including our own. some reports show them to be among the worst of the worst. and how many of them will end up

democrats and republicans among the president's critics for promising to close gitmo. note the timing on this too. the prison is in cuba, obviously. the president is pushing to normalize relations with that communist island nation. now. the president is set to go to cuba in march. correspondent rich edson with the latest at the white house now as we await. rich, as soon as the president steps up we'll go right to him. reporter: good morning, marries. part of had -- and now the president. >> good morning, everybody. in our fight against terrorists like al qaeda and isil, we are using every element of our national power. our military, intelligence, diplomacy, homeland security, how enforcement, federal, state and local, as well as the example of our ideals as a

values including rule of law and human rights. in this fight, we learn and we work to constantly improve. when we find something that works, we keep on doing it. when it becomes clear that something is not working as intended, when it does not advance our security, we have to change course. for many years it's been clear that the detention facility at guantanamo bay does not advance our national security. it undermines it. this is not just my opinion. this is the opinion of experts. this is the opinion of many in our military. it's counterproductive to our fight against terrorists because they use it as propaganda in their efforts to recruit. it drains military resources. with nearly $450 million spent last year alone to keep it running.

additional costs needed to keep it open going forward, for less than 100 detainees. guantanamo harms our partnerships with allies in other countries whose cooperation we need against terrorism. when i talk to other world leaders they bring up the fact that guantanamo is not resolved. moreover, keeping this facility open is contrary to our values. it undermines our standing in the world. it is viewed as a stain on our broader record of upholding the highest standards of rule of law as americans we pried ourselves on being a beacon to other nations, a model of the rule of law? but 15 years after 9/11, 15 years, after the worst terrorist attack in american history,

existence of a facility and a process where not a single verdict has been reached in those attacks. not a single one. when i first ran for president it was widely recognized that this facility needed to close. this was not just my opinion. this was not some radical, far-left view. there was a bipartisan support to close it. my predecessor, president bush, to his credit, said he wanted to close it. it was one of the few things that i and my republican opponent, senator john mccain agreed on. and so in one of my first acts as president i took action to begin closing it.

support i wanted to make sure we did it right. i indicated that we would need to take our time to do it in a systemic way and that we had examined all of the options. and unfortunately during that period where we were putting the pieces in place to close it, what had previously been bipartisan support suddenly became a partisan issue. suddenly, many who previously said it should be closed backed off because they were worried about the politics. the public was scared into thinking that, well, if we close it somehow we'll be less safe. and since that time, congress has repeatedly imposed restrictions aimed at preventing us from closing this facility. now despite the politics, we've

of nearly 800 detainees once held at guantanamo, more than 85% have already been transferred to other countries. more than 500 of these transfers by the way occurred under president bush. since i took office we've so far transferred 147 more. each under new, significant restrictions to keep them from returning to the battlefield. and as a result of these actions, today, just 91 detainees remain. less than 100. today the defense department thanks to very hard work by secretary of defense ash carter, as well as his team, working in concert with the office of management and budget, today, the department is submitting to congress our plan for finally closing the facility at guantanamo once and for all. it's a plan that reflects the

security team. i especially want to thank ash and his team at dod. this plan has my full support. it reflects our best thinking on how to best go after terrorists and deal with those who we may capture and it is a strategy with four main elements. first, we'll continue to securely and responsibly transfer to other countries the 35 detainees out of the 91 that have already been approved for transfer. keep in mind this process involves extensive and careful coordination across our federal government to insure that our national security interests are met when an individual is transferred to another country. so, for example, we insist that foreign countries institute strong security measures. and, as we move forward, that

60, and potentially even fewer detainees remaining. second, we'll accelerate the period i can reviews of remaining detainees to determine whether their continued detention is necessary. our review board, which includes representatives from across government, will continue to look at all relevant information including current intelligence and if certain detainees no longer pose a significant threat they may be eligible for transfer to another country as well. number three, we'll continue to use all legal tools to deal with the remaining detainees still held under law of war or detention. currently 10 detainees are in some stage of the military commission's process, a process that we worked hard to reform in my first year in office with bipartisan support from

but i have to say with respect to these commissions, they are very costly. they have resulted in years of litigation without a resolution. we're they're for outlining additional changes to approve these commissions which would require congressional action and we'll be consulting with them in the near future on that issue. i also want to point out that in contrast to the commission process, our article three federal courts have proven to have an outstanding record of convicting some of the most hardened terrorists. these prosecutions allow for the gathering of intelligence against terrorist groups. it proves that we can both prosecute terrorists and protect the american people. so think about it. terrorists like richard reid the shoe-bomber.

blow up a plane over detroit. faysaal that tried to put a bomb in times square. and the dzhokhar tsarnaev who cause the bombing in boston marathon. they are all convicted in our courts in the united states. so, we can capture terrorists, protect the american people, and when done right, we can try them and put them in our maximum security prisons and it works just fine. and in this sense the plan we're putting forward today isn't just about closing the facility at guantanamo, it's not just about dealing with the current group of detainees, which is a complex piece of business because of the manner in which they were originally apprehended and what

this is about closing a chapter in our history. it rye he can ins the lessons that we've learned since -- reflects lessons we learned since 9/11 the lessons that we need to guide our nation going forward. even as we use military commissions to close out the cases of some current detainees, which given the unique circumstances of their cases make it difficult for them to be tried in article iii courts, this type of use of military commissions should not set a precedent for the future. as they have been in past wars, military commissions will continue to be an option when individuals are detained during battle. but our preferred option, the most effective option for dealing with individuals deentad outside military theaters, must be our strong, proven, federal courts.

to work with congress to find a secure location in the united states to hold remaining detainees. these are detainees subject to military commissions, but it also includes those who can not yet be troops feared to other countries or who we have determined must continue to be detained because they pose a continuing significant threat to the united states. we are not identifying a specific facility today in this plan. we are outlining what options look like. as congress has imposed restrictions thatly prevent the transfer of detain -- that currently prevent transfer of detainees to the united states we know this is challenge and we'll keep making the case to congress we can do this in a responsible and secure way, taking into account the lessons and great record of our maximum security prisons.

submitting today is not only the right thing to do for our security, it will also save money. the defense department estimates that this plan compared to keeping guantanamo open would lower costs by up to $85 million a year. over 10 years it would generate savings of more than 300 million. over 20 years the savings would be up to $1.7 billion. in other words, we can insure our security, uphold our highest values around the world, and, save american taxpayers a lot of money in the process. so, in closing, i want to say, i am very clear-eyed about the hurdles to finally closing guantanamo. the politics of this are tough.

public are worried about terrorism, and in their mind, the notion of having terrorists held in the united states rather than in some distant place, can be scary. but part of my message to the american people here is we're already holding a bunch of really dangerous terrorists here in the united states because we threw the book at them. and there have been no incidents. we've managed it just fine. and in congress i recognize in part because of some of the fears of the public, that have been fanned often times by misinformation, there continues to be a fair amount of opposition to closing guantanamo. if it were easy it would have happened years ago, as i wanted, as i have been working to try to

but there remains bipartisan support for closing it. given the stakes involved for our security, this plan deserves a fair hearing, even in an election year. we should be able to have an open, honest, good faith dialogue how to best insure our national security. and the fact that i'm no longer running, jo is no longer running, we're not on the ballot, it gives us the capacity to not have to worry about the politics. let us do what is right for america. let us go ahead and close this chapter and do it right, do it carefully, do it in a way that makes sure we're safe but, but gives the next president and more importantly the future generations the ability to apply the lessons we've learned in the

doing it in a way that doesn't raise some of the problems that guantanamo has raised. i really think there's an opportunity here for progress. i believe we've got an obligation to try. president bush said he wanted to close guantanamo. despite everything that he had invested in it. i give him credit for that. there was an honest assessment on his part about what needed to happen. but he didn't get it done and it was passed to me. i have been working for seven years now to get this thing closed. as president i have spent countless hours dealing with this. i do not exaggerate about that. our closest allies raise it with me continually. they often raise specific cases of detainees repeatedly. i don't want to pass this problem on to the next president, whoever it is. and if as a nation we don't deal with this now, when will we deal

are we going to let this linger on for another 15 years, another 20 years? another 30 years? if we don't do what's required now, i think future generations are going to look back and ask, why we failed to act when the right course, the right side of history and justice and our best american traditions was clear. so, again i want to thank secretary carter. you and your team did an outstanding job and you have shown great leadership on this issue. with this plan we have the opportunity finally to eliminate a terrorist propaganda tool, strengthen relationships between allies and partners, enhance our national security and most importantly uphold values that bind us as americans. i'm absolutely committed to closing detention facility at guantanamo and will continue to make the case for doing so as

but this is a good moment for everybody to step back, take a look at the facts, take a look at the views of those who have been most committed to fighting terrorism and understand this stuff. our operatives, our intelligence officials, our military, let's go ahead and get this thing done. thank very much, everybody. >> mr. president, congress doesn't approve the plan will you act yourself? >> president obama wrapping up his remarks. we took a pause. i don't know whether he will take a question. we had been told that. keeping guantanamo bay, the prison in cuba open is contrary to our values, a stain on our records to being beacon upholding rule of law. what you just heard just moments ago making his case why he hasn't gotten it up done until

he did say the u.s. government would pay $180 million a year in operating courses cutting gitmo. there is $475 million request for construction costs. might take you a couple years to realize those savings. just one other thing before we move on to our reporter here, he says that we have not identified a specific facility inside of the united states where we would be taking upwards of 60 or so of these detainees, ones who are remaining, among some of the most dangerous as reported. rich edson, our fox news correspondent also with some thoughts on the president, rich? reporter: good morning, harris. the issue for the president here, the most contentious issue perhaps in this, what to do with prisoners in the calls to bring some of them to prisons in the united states. this plan according to senior administration officials outlines more than a dozen locations. doesn't endorse one or two over the others but -- brings them up as possibilities.

prisons in for the leavenworth, kansas, navy -- brig in south carolina. many of those states wherever the prisons are expressed their opposition to this. in order for the administration to transfer detainees to the united states it would require a change in federal law. current federal law prohibit this is administration or any administration from transferring states. we gotten reaction from mitch mcconnell. he said this is ill-considered crusade to goes guantanamo bay. they need congress and congress doesn't seem like it is biting. >> president says he is sensitive to many americans who are worried about terrorism. i think that would be all of us. we already have some terrorists here in this country who have gone through the legal system, in his words, he said, we manage them just fine. rich edson, thank you very much. please stay tuned to this fox news channel and this

coverage of the story and all the day's breaking news both on cable and broadcast. news when you want it online all the time on foxnews.com. i'm harris faulkner in new york. the. >> this has been a give-away of a flat-screen tv. what is one to do when in gum alley? >> you can't go to gum alley in california and not leave your mark. >> see what prankster rich ferguson has up his sleeve. >> i wasn't expecting that to be the trick.

hi, everybody, we're about to show you an incredible woman. this woman is natalie parra, she's a free diver. meaning she just dives without the assistance of scuba gear. goes underwater. holds her breath and look who her swimming buddy is here -- a humpback whale? experience? that's amazing. >> it really is amazing. finally somebody to come swim with me. but the amazing thing is she's just holding her breath while this is all happening. i would immediately suck in water like uggg. i need to go back to the top. >> this went straight to the top of my bucket list. for more videos like this, make sure you watch "right this

the new caramel macchiato from dunkin' donuts. let hand-crafted layers of espresso, milk, and a caramel-flavored swirl uplift your mood. indulge in a hot or iced macchiato today. america runs on dunkin'. obviously you do have a stick of gum. >> i should have told you.

>> it's so funny then how with the real piece of gum people actually freak out. >> you want some gum? >> yeah. >> is it real, man? >> yeah i promise, you can trust me, i'm a magician. >> we got the wrong one, bro. >> that's disgusting. i don't know that i want to walk down that alley. i feel like germs are just raining down on your head. >> disgusting, huh? rich doesn't think so. >> which one you want me to get? >> pick one out for me. >> that tastes like cigarettes. >> it's rich ferguson. simple sleight of hand. he's got a fresh piece of gum in his mouth. thanks for watching, see you on the next "right this minute"! -- captions by vitac --

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