President Obama repeats a familiar pledge, but with no timetable for keeping it. He vows to shut the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Closing the detention center was a 2008 campaign priority for Obama, who in January 2009 signed an executive order calling for that step. But more than four years later, the controversial prison remains open. The president’s delay in undoing detention practices started by President George W. Bush draws criticism from human rights advocates, as well as some Republicans and Democrats.

Since it opened 11 years ago, to detain Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects, nearly 800 prisoners have gone through Guantanamo Bay. No new prisoner has arrived since 2008; none has left for over a year. Most of those remaining have never had a trial. Prisoners have lawyers, but there is little the attorneys can do for them. A majority of the men imprisoned there have been cleared by the Pentagon, Justice Department, FBI and CIA, yet many have spent more than a decade in detention. The facility costs the U.S. around $114 million a year.

Obama’s renewed call for closure comes as a nearly three-month long hunger strike by Guantanamo detainees continues. What began over allegations the guards mistreated some of the inmates’ prayer books – called Korans -- led to nearly two-thirds of the 166 inmates protesting their jailing without trials. They are being force-fed medically to keep them alive.

President says: “Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe. It is a recruitment tool for extremists. It needs to be closed.” – April 30 news conference

Journalist says: "The frustration we’ve heard from detainees is that the president didn't even mention it in his State of the Union this year. He didn't mention it in his inaugural speech." – Michael Isikoff, NBC News

British commentator says: "The fact that it takes men going on a hunger strike and placing their health and their lives in jeopardy for anyone to take notice is not something Americans should be proud of. . . . Imprisoning someone forever without trial is unacceptable. . . . It is time to stop wasting the taxpayers' money and squandering what credibility America has left keeping a folly afloat." -- Morris Davis, The Guardian newspaper