The Strategic Consequences of Using Military Commissions to Adjudicate US Prisoners in the Global War on Terrorism
Abstract
In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 the US responded by initiating the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Subsequently the US took a significant number of prisoners, mainly as a result of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. The Bush administration faced the problem of how to legally adjudicate the prisoners in US custody. The administration decided to use military commissions, a type of military tribunal that, as structured by the administration, offered fewer legal rights and protections to the prisoners than those afforded to criminal defendants in US courts. Several of the prisoners challenged the use of military commissions to adjudicate them, and in a series of decisions the US Supreme Court rejected their use, ruling in part that the President lacked the authority to use such commissions absent specific authorization from Congress. In response, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, specifically authorizing the use of military commissions to adjudicate the prisoners.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 05, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA471514
Entities
People
- John P. Fairgrieve
Organizations
- United States Army War College