Guantanamo Bay Detainees: National Security or Civil Liberty

Abstract

With the decision to transfer Al Qaeda and Taliban captives to detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, the Pentagon headed into legally uncharted territory. The United States has neither recognized the detainees as prisoners of war, nor have they been charged with any crime. Consequently, unanswered questions regarding their legal status and continued incarceration have drawn heated criticism from human rights organizations world-wide. Although senior defense officials are working to develop an appropriate long-term plan, they will likely confront further legal challenges involving military tribunals and the eventual reclassification of some detainees as bona fide prisoners of war. The one certainty is that the military has undertaken an unprecedented prisoner operation with an undetermined end-state.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 07, 2003
Accession Number
ADA415821

Entities

People

  • Pamela M. Von Ness

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil Rights
  • Criminals
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • International Law
  • Law
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Tribunals
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Prisoners Of War
  • Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Criminal Law
  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Theoretical Analysis.