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this convention does not apply to those captured in the "war on terror"
because these "enemy combatants" are not part of any country's
military, do not clearly identify themselves as soldiers, and, thus, are
themselves in violation of the rules of war. As Jim Phillips of the
conservative thinktank the Heritage Foundation said in 2006:
"Everybody that is deemed to fall under the criteria for Geneva should
be treated that way," Phillips says. "But some of these terrorists who
are not recognized as soldiers don't deserve to be treated as soldiers. I
think part of the question is: 'What is humiliating?' They would - may argue that just being put in jail is humiliating, since they're doing the
work of God, as they see it. If they're not deemed to qualify for
Geneva-type treatment, I don't think they should be [given Geneva
protections]."
(http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1069767.html(link is external))
One of the core principles of the U.S. system of justice is "due
process": People who are arrested must be told the charges against
them and have the right to answer to the charges in a fair trail. But at
Guantanamo, detainees can and have been held indefinitely without a
trial and even without charges. For instance, one detainee, Shaker
Aamer, who was captured in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in the early stages
of the war in 2001 and was transferred to Guantanamo in February of
2002 - just a month after it opened - still remains there today, without
being charged and without a trial.
(UK Independent(link is external))
In 2008, former Vice President Dick Cheney argued that the "unlawful
combatants" being held at Guantanamo aren't entitled to due process:
"Once you go out and capture a bunch of terrorists, as we did in
Afghanistan and elsewhere, then you've got to have some place to put
them," he said. "If you bring them here to the U.S. and put them in our
local court system, then they are entitled to all kinds of rights that we
extend only to American citizens. Remember, these are unlawful
combatants." He added, "Guantanamo has been very, very valuable.
And I think [the Obama administration] will discover that trying to close
it is a very hard proposition." (Reuters, 12/15/08(link is external))
But Guantanamo's opponents have denounced the facility on human
rights grounds. Critics include Amnesty International, which in 2005
stated that "Guantanamo has become the gulag our times, entrenching
the notion that people can be detained without any recourse to the
law."
Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who served in the Bush
Administration, has also condemned the facility. Powell stated in
2007: "Essentially, we have shaken the belief the world had in
America's justice system by keeping a place like Guantanamo open
and creating things like the military commission. We don't need it and
it is causing us far more damage than any good we get for it."
(Reuters, 6/10/07(link is external))
Student Reading 2:
Broken Promises: President Obama and
Guantanamo
While on the campaign trail in 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama
joined the chorus of voices criticizing the Guantanamo Bay detention
facility. Indeed, in his campaign stump speeches, Obama regularly
vowed to the close the camp. Yet, three years into his presidency, the
camp remains open.
On December 15, 2009, Obama issued a Presidential memorandum
calling for the facility to be closed and ordering the prisoners to be
transferred to Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois. But Obama's
plan quickly faced bipartisan opposition in Congress as well as legal
challenges. Ultimately, the administration abandoned its plan.
Some commentators suggest that President Obama's failure to deliver
on his promise has been due primarily to his style of leadership. Facing
a legislature that is hostile to his aims, they argue, the president has
sought compromise instead of being firm in his demands. As Peter Finn
and Anne E. Kornblut wrote for theWashington Post(link is
external) (link is external)in April 2011:
For more than two years, the White House's plans had been
undermined by political miscalculations, confusion and timidity in the
face of mounting congressional opposition, according to some inside
the administration as well as on Capitol Hill. Indeed, the failed effort to
close Guantanamo was reflective of the aspects of Obama's leadership
style that continue to distress his liberal base - a willingness to allow
"[There are] really dangerous provisions here that would make it nearly
impossible to close Guantanamo," Azmy explained. "Congress has
forbidden from transferring or releasing any detainees from
Guantanamo to their home countries or third countries willing to take
them as refugees unless the Defense Department can meet this
exceedingly onerous certification requirement. Basically, before
anyone can be released, the Defense Department has to certify that
the individual will not engage in any hostile acts when they are
returned - something that the Defense Department cannot certify."
The 10-year anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay on January
11 sparked protest by opponents of the camp. A coalition of human
rights groups held a national "Day of Action" in Washington, DC,
featuring a solemn march of activists (dressed as prisoners in black
hoods and orange jumpsuits) from the White House to the Supreme
Court. The protesters aim to shine a public spotlight on this stillpressing human rights issue.