Prison assessed for Gitmo transfers

STANDISH, Mich. (AP) - Representatives of four federal agencies have visited a maximum security prison in rural Michigan to assess its suitability to house Guantanamo Bay inmates.

Representatives of the Defense, Justice and Homeland Security departments and the Bureau of Prisons toured the lockup in Standish, about 150 miles north of Detroit.

Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan says about 30 federal and state officials took part in the tour Thursday. He said the federal government has not made a formal proposal for sending the detainees there.

The Standish prison and a military penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., are being considered to house the detainees if the prison in Cuba is closed by 2010, as ordered by President Barack Obama.

The Guantanamo Bay facility houses 229 suspected al-Qaida, Taliban and foreign fighters.