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I鈥檓 sure you鈥檝e seen the headlines or read the news on President Obama鈥檚 speech this week about the to close the Guant谩namo prison. But what鈥檚 really going on? And what new developments 鈥� good or bad 鈥� were buried in the speech and the plan? Here鈥檚 our take.

I hate to start with the bad, but the bad is bad enough that we should start there:

No end to indefinite detention or military commissions: Let鈥檚 start with the horrible news. The worst part of the plan is a scheme to bring detainees to the United States for continued indefinite detention or military commission trials. These harmful Guant谩namo policies should end at Guant谩namo, not be brought to the United States. Detainees should be brought to the U.S. if there鈥檚 evidence to try them in federal criminal courts here, not to continue indefinite detention or military commissions on American soil.

Congress will say 鈥渘o鈥� to the president鈥檚 plan: It didn鈥檛 take long for Congress to weigh in. In fact, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) essentially said 鈥渘o鈥� to the plan before the president even gave his speech. (I guess McConnell got some practice with a preemptive 鈥渘o鈥� when just an hour after reports of Justice Antonin Scalia鈥檚 death, he said the Senate would not consider any Supreme Court nominee named by Obama.)

And now for the good (and it really is good):

President Obama cares A LOT about closing Guant谩namo: The Pentagon sends reports to Congress all the time on lots of different issues. We hadn鈥檛 expected the president to say anything about the Pentagon sending this plan to Congress. Instead, he delivered the speech from the Roosevelt Room, showing steely resolve. No one can question whether the issue matters to the president.

The plan sheds light on how detainees are transferred overseas: As the president stated, Guant谩namo 鈥檚 population has gone from 242 detainees down to 91 on his watch, with the vast majority of the detainees transferred overseas for repatriation or resettlement. The pace has been maddeningly slow, but the plan pulls back the curtain partway on the intense level of review and diplomatic and intelligence work that goes into each transfer.

The president promised to transfer overseas the cleared detainees: Thirty-five of the 91 remaining detainees have been cleared for transfer overseas, with many of them waiting seven or more years to be transferred out. We鈥檝e heard this promise before from administration officials, but we hope that the president鈥檚 renewed determination will mean that now the pace will pick up.

The plan promises faster review of whether to clear more detainees: Forty-six of the 91 remaining detainees are in limbo 鈥� never charged with a crime, but never cleared to be sent home. The president years ago set up a Periodic Review Board to evaluate each detainee for clearance. But it has been extremely slow, leaving dozens of detainees waiting for their first hearing. The president said he is 鈥渁ccelerating鈥� the PRB reviews, and his plan said all initial reviews will be done by this fall. That鈥檚 good news because the PRBs have so far found that 18 of 21 detainees who have gone through the process do not pose a security threat and can be transferred. This commitment to faster review could end indefinite detention for many detainees.

The president wants military commissions limited to the detainees already charged and not used for anyone else: The president recognized what has been obvious to everyone who has observed them 鈥� the military commissions, which apply to 10 remaining detainees, are rife with problems. 鈥淭hey are very costly, they have resulted in years of litigation without a resolution,鈥� he said. He is keeping the commissions going for the 10 detainees already charged in them, but he is cutting them off for future use, saying 鈥渢his type of use of military commissions should not set a precedent for the future.鈥� While he should end them for all, without exception, it鈥檚 a step in the right direction to lay down this limit.

Future captures should be prosecuted in federal criminal courts: The president has been under intense pressure from Congress 鈥� particularly from the trio of Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) on the Senate Armed Services Committee 鈥� to support new indefinite detention authority and come up with a new prison to hold future captures without charge or trial. Instead, the president gave firm support for the value of federal criminal courts for future captures, stating 鈥渙ur preferred option, the most effective option for dealing with individuals detained outside military theaters, must be our strong, proven federal courts.鈥� That鈥檚 certainly a presidential 鈥渘o鈥� to the voices clamoring to lock up more people without charge or trial.

There is a lot of work to be done over the remaining 11 months of the Obama presidency to end indefinite detention and close Guant谩namo for good. While the events this week are a good kickoff to the final push, we must also ensure that indefinite detention and military commissions end when Guant谩namo closes.