Col. Patrick Murray: Obama Only Concerned About Legacy in Closing Guantanamo

President Barack Obama's determination to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay over the Pentagon's objections prove that the White House is "prioritizing a legacy over national security, not to mention common sense," retired Army Col. Patrick Murray told Newsmax TV on Tuesday.

"It's not just Ash Carter," Murray told "The Hard Line" host Dennis Michael Lynch, referring to the defense secretary. Carter has said that 17 detainees would be released from Guantanamo next month.

"It went back to every secretary of defense that Obama has had," Murray said. "It doesn't surprise me that there's a bureaucratic slow roll … coming out of the Pentagon because of national security issues.

"They don't want to release these terrorists back into the fold," he said.

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The administration is also hiding behind the Islamic State in declaring its core reason for closing Guantanamo.

"Everything now that they don't like is a recruiting tool for ISIS, including Guantanamo," Murray told Lynch. "That's a campaign promise that he's determined to uphold at the risk of American lives."

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