The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff has joined those who believe it is in the interest of the US to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay.

General Martin Dempsey said the facility at the naval base in Cuba “does create a psychological scar on our national values. Whether it should or not, it does”.

The US has transferred of a number of detainees to their home or third countries recently, as President Barack Obama tries to make progress toward his goal of closing Guantánamo. The prison population now is 127.

Dempsey, who was appearing on Fox News Sunday, said there were “dozens” of prisoners among that number who should still be detained even if the base at Guantánamo is closed.

He said what to do with such detainees if Congress would not allow them to be brought to the US was a question for elected officials.