Obama: Deadline to pass for closing Guantanamo prison

US President Barack Obama says the deadline set for the closure of the Guantanamo prison will be missed. He made the remark in an interview with NBC Television during his Asia tour.

Detainees stand during an early morning Islamic prayer at the US  military prison for "enemy combatants," in October 2009, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 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. (AFP/Getty Images/File/John Moore)

It was the first time Obama admitted in public that the Guantanamo prison is not likely to be closed by January 22, 2010. He set the deadline right after being sworn into office early this year. Washington is still contemplating how to try, transfer or release more than 200 detainees. Some are suspects of headline terrorism cases.

Last week, the Department of Justice announced five suspects in the 9-11 terror attacks will be tried in a New York federal civilian court. Another five Guantanamo detainees will be tried in a military tribunal.