Mr. Obama, Keep Guantanamo Open
By: Patrick Jarkowsky
Issue date: 11/25/09 Section: Opinion
The Taliban is not an internationally recognized government nor are the Shia militias and Sunni insurgents in Iraq part of the government-sanctioned military apparatus. Therefore, Article IV does not apply to any individual fighting under the control of these three groups.
In the theatre of war, an unlawful enemy combatant, a person, more often than not being a mercenary or non-military civilian, who takes a direct part in the hostilities of an armed conflict within the law of war, is upon capture not afforded the rights of a prisoner of war under the Third Geneva Convention.
Article V states that should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy, belong to any of the categories enumerated in Article IV, such persons shall enjoy the protection of the Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.
The Bush administration's establishment of the Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) was an attempt to create such a tribunal. However, this court made a mockery of international law. The Obama administration need not follow this example.
President Obama must establish a new tribunal whose sole aim is to fairly and competently try these individuals. If they are found guilty, they must remain at Guantanamo Bay. Housing these individuals in US prisons would amount to a death sentence.
If the court determines that these individuals are not guilty, the US must make every effort to return them to their countries of origin. If these countries refuse, other arrangements can be made to help relocate the acquitted individuals.
The complicated nature of this issue requires the attention of the numerous legal minds within the Obama administration. It also requires that Americans on both sides of the political spectrum take a few minutes to comprehend the nuance of the issue before retreating to predictable partisan posturing.
In the theatre of war, an unlawful enemy combatant, a person, more often than not being a mercenary or non-military civilian, who takes a direct part in the hostilities of an armed conflict within the law of war, is upon capture not afforded the rights of a prisoner of war under the Third Geneva Convention.
Article V states that should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy, belong to any of the categories enumerated in Article IV, such persons shall enjoy the protection of the Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.
The Bush administration's establishment of the Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) was an attempt to create such a tribunal. However, this court made a mockery of international law. The Obama administration need not follow this example.
President Obama must establish a new tribunal whose sole aim is to fairly and competently try these individuals. If they are found guilty, they must remain at Guantanamo Bay. Housing these individuals in US prisons would amount to a death sentence.
If the court determines that these individuals are not guilty, the US must make every effort to return them to their countries of origin. If these countries refuse, other arrangements can be made to help relocate the acquitted individuals.
The complicated nature of this issue requires the attention of the numerous legal minds within the Obama administration. It also requires that Americans on both sides of the political spectrum take a few minutes to comprehend the nuance of the issue before retreating to predictable partisan posturing.
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