[JURIST] The Pentagon wants to cut in half the number of detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay by tranferring many prisoners out of the country to facilities in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Yemen, according to a report published in Friday's New York Times. According to unidentified officials, the plan, first laid out by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in a February 5 memo, was partly prompted by court rulings that made it possible for detainees held at the US military base to challenge their detentions in US federal court [JURIST report]. The same sources told the Times that the Pentagon expected opposition from the CIA, the State Department, and the Department of Justice; the CIA has recently come under severe criticism for tranferring some of its detainees internationally, and the State Department would be responsible for negotiating agreements with destination countries to ensure that prisoners transferred there would be treated humanely and not tortured. The New York Times has more [registration required]; Reuters provides a detailed summary.