Sorcerer in the Past

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (CNN) — The Obama administration is drafting executive orders calling for the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, two administration officials said.

A guard keeps watch from a tower at the military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The revelation coincided with a judge’s decision on Wednesday to halt the September 11 terrorism cases at the behest of President Obama. On Tuesday, he directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask prosecutors to seek stays for 120 days so terrorism cases at the facility can be reviewed, according to a military official close to the proceedings.

The officials say the White House is expected to call for:

• Closing the detention facility within a year.

• A systematic review of detention policies and procedures and a review of all individual cases.

• A policy requiring the Army field manual for interrogations to apply to all people in U.S. custody. This is aimed at closing any potential loophole that might allow the CIA to engage in what many say are coercive interrogations

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It was not clear who would conduct the review, although the White House, the Defense Department and the Justice Department are expected to be deeply involved, the officials said.

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The Pentagon has been reviewing the possibility of sending detainees who are not released or sent back to their home countries to Camp Pendleton in California; the Navy brig at Charleston, South Carolina; and Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

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There has been significant opposition from members of Congress in these states to such a plan.

Obama, who assumed office at noon Tuesday, appeared to be moving quickly on his campaign promise to close the controversial facility.

There are five defendants in the September 11 terrorist attacks case, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the confessed organizer of the operation. The other defendants are Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Walid bin Attash, Ali Aziz Abdul Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi.

A different judge granted a prosecution request for a continuance in the case of another detainee at Guantanamo, an official said.

That case involves Omar Khadr, a Canadian charged with the murder of Sgt. Christopher Speer in Afghanistan and providing material support for terrorism. Khadr was 15 years old when he was captured in July 2002. His trial was set to begin next week.

Watch what may happen to Gitmo’s inmates »

"The defense did not oppose the prosecution’s request for a continuance, so Presiding Judge Pat Parrish has granted the motion for a 120-day continuance," said Joe DellaVedova, a military commissions spokesman.

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