Gibbs: Indefinite terrorist detentions regrettable

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says it's unfortunate that some terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay need to be held indefinitely without trial.

"Some would be tried in federal courts, as we've seen done in the past. Some would be tried in military commissions, likely spending the rest of their lives in a maximum-security prison that nobody, including terrorists, have ever escaped from. Some, regrettably, will have to be indefinitely detained," Gibbs said in an interview, describing Obama's beleaguered plan for closing Guantanamo, on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday.

The press secretary quickly sought to clarify his comments by adding, "I say 'regrettably' not because it's a bad thing for -- necessarily for them in terms of the fact that they're very dangerous people and we have to make sure that even if we can't prosecute them, we're not putting them back out on the battlefield."

With Obama almost one year overdue on his promise to close Guantanamo, Gibbs offered no prediction that the president's plan would come to fruition anytime soon. "It's certainly not going to close in the next month," Gibbs said. "It's going to be a while."

Gibbs' comments followed an exchange in which CNN's Candy Crowley suggested the president has the authority to close Guantanamo in spite of not having done so. Gibbs replied by noting that legislation passed by Congress bars bringing Guantanamo prisoners to the U.S. "There are prohibitions, legislatively, on the transfer," he noted.

Gibbs did not note that all the restrictions were signed into law by Obama, albeit as part of broader legislation. Another measure further limiting Obama's power to move prisoners out of Guantanamo was passed by Congress last week and is awaiting his signature or veto.

Human rights and civil liberties groups have strongly protested Obama's plan to continue to detain almost 50 Guantanamo prisoners without charge -- which administration officials portray as a necessity due, in part, to aggressive interrogations of prisoners during the Bush era. In addition, some groups that had pushed hard to close Guantanamo have since said they would rather the facility stay open than have prisoners moved to the U.S. for detention without trial.