guantanamo bay u.s. naval base cuba observe behind one-way mirror heavy chain-link fence handful beard detainees baggy t-shirts mill around inside communal cellblock guantanamo bay military prison vastly outnumber u.s. troop guard shrink world america notorious offshore prison scene underscore u.s. president barack obama run time options meet pledge close compound leave office january obama whittle number prisoners 80 low since shortly predecessor george w. bush open facility hold terrorism suspect round overseas follow sept. 11 2001 attack president face political legal obstacles may prove insurmountable final push empty detention center u.s. naval station cuba accord u.s. officials washington graphic tmsnrt.rs/1nmi52e still grow sign carefully script media tour week operations begin wind prison many cells stand empty inmate number dwindle late departures nine yemenis send saudi arabia last weekend participation also ebb widespread hunger strike few five inmates force-feed chief medical officer tell reporters display restraint chair type prisoners strap nasal tube insert twice daily 1,100-strong force military personnel assign secure guantanamo far-flung lockups range communal compound well-behaved prisoners solitary confinement consider dangerous remain largely unchanged work 14 guard current inmate work inside razor wire labor-intensive squads guard protective visors swarm eerily darken corridor one lunch time prepare deliver meals camp six home cooperative prisoners unaware watch record sound-proof glass detainees go routines one wave guard complain enough pen artwork another sit steel table paperwork washington republican lawmakers ready legal battle obama try move prisoners u.s. soil obama plan close guantanamo announce two months ago hinge bring possibly dozens remain prisoners deem dangerous release maximum-security prisons unite state would defy congressional ban transfer administration officials rule obama might seek bypass congress resort executive action close prison say privately probably make decision november presidential election republican frontrunner donald trump party rival vow keep jail open win white house peak guantanamo house nearly 800 prisoners become symbol excesses war terror synonymous accusations torture obama whose promise shutter prison date back 2008 campaign call recruitment tool terrorists nowadays camp officials credit improve compliance prisoners sense release get close hold decade without charge trial two detainees list misconduct entail anything physically assault guard splash bodily fluids say army colonel david heath commander guantanamo guard force hunger strikers number hundred peak protest 2013 handful long need extraction team pull cells enteral feed sessions accord navy captain rich quattrone head camp medical facilities insist process safe humane omar farah attorney tariq ba odah yemeni hunger striker lose half body weight among group send saudi arabia say force-feed utterly humiliate guantanamo officials remain mindful potential source trouble especially give islamic religious sensitivities instance reporter enter model cell mean display live condition begin inspect bookshelf camp officials rush tell touch copy koran cameraman order delete scene detainee library harry potter book popular items officials screen anything deem promote jihadist theme contain graphic violence nudity inmates sometimes go step woman photo cover arabic-language national geographic scribble detainee apparently offend uncover face guantanamo shrink obama goal close prison still elusive