Colin Powell says closing Guantanamo Bay 'in best interest' of the US

President Barack Obama submitted plans earlier this week to close the military prison.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. should close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, pictured here. (Getty Images)

Colin Powell, former secretary of state under George W. Bush, has sided with President Barack Obama and called for the U.S. to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

The retired four star general said it would make more sense to transfer the remaining detainees to a facility in the U.S., as Mr. Obama proposed earlier this week.

"Do we really need to keep this place open for 50 remaining detainees who can easily move to a secure facility in the United States?" Mr. Powell asked on MSNBC. "I think it's in the best interest in the nation and it's in the best interest in our moral authority around the world."

Mr. Obama sent a proposal to Congress on Tuesday outlining his plan to close the prison. It would send roughly 35 of the remaining 91 prisoners to other countries and would bring as many as 60 to a yet-to-be-built maximum security prison somewhere in the U.S.

"I am very clear-eyed about the hurdles to finally closing Guantanamo, the politics of this are tough," Mr. Obama said about the proposal he sent to Congress. "If it were easy, it would have happened years ago."

On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said Republicans would block any attempt by the president to close Guantanamo.

Follow @PaytonGuion on Twitter.