US President George W. Bush on Monday defended the US treatment of detainees, saying many of the suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are not traditional war prisoners.

"Look at all the facts. That's all I ask people to do," Bush said at a news conference with European Union leaders. "I would urge you to go down and take a look at Guantanamo."

About 520 detainees are still being held at Guantanamo, most of whom were captured during the US-led war in Afghanistan. Some have been detained there for more than three years without charges or access to lawyers.

There have been calls for the closure of the Guantanamo prison over the past few weeks, after reports of alleged prisoner abuse and Koran desecration by US guards there have attracted worldwide attention.

Bush said many of those being detained are "dangerous people," adding that some had been released to their previous countries, and they went on to the battlefield again.

"I have an obligation, as do all of us who are holding office, to protect our people," Bush said. "And I believe we're meeting that obligation in a humane way."

Former President Bill Clinton, in an interview with the Financial Times published on Monday, said Guantanamo Bay "either needs to be closed down or cleaned up."

"It's time that there are no more stories coming out of there about people being abused," Clinton said. "If we get a reputation for abusing people, it puts our own soldiers much more at risk."

Source: Xinhua