Order in the Court: A Strategic Assessment of the Use of Military Commissions in the War on Terrorism
Abstract
The September II, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, perpetrated on American soil and resulting in thousands of deaths, are watershed events. Institutions are scrambling to transform to meet the new crisis. The President has created an Office of Homeland Defense, the military services are rapidly transforming to meet the new threat, and the Department of Defense is on the verge of creating a new unified command responsible for homeland security. Similarly, the law must respond to these new challenges. These changes are both in the domestic and international arenas. Amid these efforts, the President authorized the use of military commissions to try any non-citizen terrorists that the United States captures. Civil libertarians and international jurists raged at the prospect of military trials. The proposed military trials raise constitutional and international legal issues, and raise serious policy and strategic considerations. This paper examines some historical military commissions, explores the legal basis for them and assesses the policy from a strategic perspective. The paper concludes that military commissions are historically appropriate, lawful and strategically sound.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 09, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA404520
Entities
People
- Mark Romaneski
Organizations
- United States Army War College