guantanamo far from the u.s. mainland were always the right idea for a variety of compelling reasons. >> reporter: attorney general holder now says he has full faith and confidence in the military commission system a system critics call illegitimate, flawed and untested. >> shouldn't be a political matter. points shouldn't be made on this issue. the federal court system is our tried and true system. >> reporter: a senior defense official said that they did not advocate for this decision but that they have a court system that is ready to handle all of these cases. wolf? >> so even though he promised to close guantanamo bay within a year after taking office, for all practical purposes, gitmo and cuba's going to remain open for the foreseeable future. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. because these cases will be tried there at get po. so despite that promise that the president made -- and you're right this was one of the first things he did after going into office, delivering on that campaign promise. but now it's uncertain when it will be closed.