Better than just getting shot...

The AP has a story by Lara Jakes and Pamela Hess about Guantánamo:

Stymied by Congress so far, the White House is considering issuing an executive order to indefinitely imprison a small number of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, considered too dangerous to prosecute or release, two administration officials said Friday. No decisions have been made about the order, which would be the third major mandate by President Obama to deal with how the United States treats and prosecutes terrorism suspects and foreign fighters.
One of the officials said the order, if issued, would not take effect until after the 1 October start of fiscal 2010. Already, Congress has blocked the administration from spending any money this year to imprison the detainees in the United States, which in turn could slow or even halt Obama's pledge to close the Navy prison in Cuba by 21 January. The administration also is considering asking Congress to pass new laws that would allow the indefinite detentions, the official said. Both officials spoke Friday on condition of anonymity. The possibility of an executive order was first reported by ProPublica, an independent public-interest newsroom, and The Washington Post. "A number of options are being considered," one of the officials said. Asked if the detainees would be indefinitely held overseas or in the United States, the official said: "There's not really a lot of options overseas."
Under one White House draft being discussed, the administration officials said, detainees would be imprisoned at a military facility on U.S. soil but their detention would be subject to annual presidential review. U.S. citizens would not be held in the system. Such detainees would also have the right to legal representation during confinement and access to some of the information that is being used to keep them behind bars. Anyone detained under this order would have a right to challenge his detention before a judge.
Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Washington office, said the organization strongly opposes any plans for indefinite detention of prisoners. "We're saying it shouldn't be done at all," he said Friday.
Without legislative backing, an executive order is the only route Obama has to get the needed authority. The order also would only apply to current detainees at Guantánamo, not ones caught and held in future counterinsurgent battles.
There are 229 detainees being held at Guantánamo. At least eleven are expected to be tried in military tribunals, and one has been transferred to United States for prosecution by civilian federal courts. Still others, including four Chinese Muslims known as Uighurs who were transferred to Bermuda this month, have been sent to other nations. The Obama administration is trying to relocate up to one hundred Yemeni detainees to Saudi Arabia for rehabilitation. Obama said in May he was looking at continued imprisonment for a small number of Guantánamo detainees whom he described as too dangerous to release. It's not clear how many detainees could fall into that category.