President Obama’s attempts to empty out the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba may not result in the legacy he is hoping to leave behind.

The president has been focused on making good on his promise to close the military prison with more than 160 detainees released under his administration. This number includes 12 Yemeni and three Afghan detainees set to be transferred soon to the United Arab Emirates, according to the White House.

Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters said Obama’s “unilateral” action to empty out the detention camp is centered around the legacy he is hoping to leave by closing the facility after the last 61 detainees are released.

Peters, who retired from the Army in 1998, noted that in the process of closing the camp, serious problems with the system are not addressed.

“We make a great ballyhoo about vetting the countries that are getting” the detainees, Peters told Fox News host Bill O’Reilly Tuesday on “The O’Reilly Factor.”

“But really there’s not a serious follow-up thereafter,” he said, noting that up to one-third of those released have returned to the battlefield. “Even if it’s only one, it matters.

“This is about Obama establishing a legacy,” Peters said. “Compare legacies. Lincoln freed the slaves. Obama freed the terrorists.”

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