That’s the title of this interesting little photo collection.  The New York Times’ Charlie Savage posted the pictures of the detention facility’s library.

Send to Kindle… Read more »

Detainees and guards clashed violently early yesterday morning at Guantánamo Bay. See reports from the Washington Post, the New York Times, and NBC. In response to the hunger strikes the detainees have engaged in for the past … Read more »

Ben’s analysis of Charlie Savage’s article on the Chief Prosector prompts this reminder: tomorrow at 9 a.m., Lawfare returns to Smallwood Hall for closed-circuit, piped-in-from-GTMO hearings in the 9/11 case.   There are twenty-five items set for oral argument during this … Read more »

The Guantánamo military commissions yesterday released—after a security review—a pair of important filings by the Office of the Chief Prosecutor (OCP), regarding the ongoing controversy over the conspiracy charges against the five 9/11 defendants. (For background, see our prior coverage … Read more »

What, if anything, do developments in the military commission case of United States v. al-Nashiri portend for Al-Nashiri v. MacDonald, an ongoing, civil challenge to the accused’s war crimes prosecution?  The question arises in letters filed in the civil … Read more »

I’m pleased to report that a group of former Obama Administration lawyers (including yours truly) has just submitted to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence a letter expressing our strong support for John Brennan’s nomination to be Director of the … Read more »

Judge James Pohl apparently has rejected the defense’s bid, in the 9/11 case, to presume (subject to rebuttal) the Constitution’s application to military commission proceedings.

We don’t have the court’s order yet, but we do have this statement from James … Read more »

Reported on Friday by the Miami Herald’s Carol Rosenberg: defense attorneys in United States v. Al-Nashiri filed a renewed motion to dismiss the conspiracy charge against their client.  At the same time, the lawyers reactivated an earlier request to throw … Read more »

Further to Ben’s post on Jennifer Daskal’s NYT Guantanamo op-ed today, over at Opinio Juris I comment on a different part of the op-ed.  Ben refers in part to reasons Jen offers why a transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the … Read more »

Fresh from the Guantanamo security scrub: an amended docketing order for the upcoming hearing, late this month, in United States v. Mohammed et. al. 

Judge James Pohl has set forth 23 motions for argument:

a. AE 018: Government Motion for

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So begins this interesting opinion from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, in a habeas case brought by Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Morafa:

On a petition for a writ for habeas corpus filed by a detainee at

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By way of reminder, this month we’ll cover military commission sessions in both of the capital cases pending at Guantanamo.  

The commission will hear argument in United States v. Al-Nashiri from Tuesday through Thursday of next week, i.e. from January … Read more »

As Ben noted the other day, the Obama administration issued a signing statement on the new NDAA arguing that its Guantánamo detainee-transfer restrictions are unconstitutional as a violation of the separation of powers. The language is similar to last year’s … Read more »

Told you so. President Obama has signed this year’s NDAA–along with a meek kind of signing (whining?) statement. Here is the statement’s discussion of the detention-related provisions–an account of which can be found in my previous post:

Several

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On Thursday, lawyers for Abd Al Rahim Hussein Al-Nashiri filed their reply brief in Al-Nashiri v. MacDonald, a civil case now pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Al-Nashiri, a defendant before the Guantanamo … Read more »

So what exactly is in the NDAA conference report that is prompting the agitation for a presidential veto? Here is a quick and dirty summary of “Subtitle D—Counterterrorism”—along with an explanation of why President Obama ought to veto the bill … Read more »

About six weeks ago, I flagged the (in my view, alarming) filing by the government of a notice of appeal to the D.C. Circuit in the Guantanamo MOU/continuing access-to-counsel litigation. Late last night, the government filed this unopposed motion … Read more »

Here is the White House’s supplemental consolidated report regarding the deployment of U.S. armed forces.  The report is addressed to the Speaker of the House, and was—in the President’s words—”prepared by my Administration and consistent with the War Powers Resolution.”… Read more »

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates has granted summary judgment to the Pentagon in a Freedom of Information Act cast brought by the International Counsel Bureau and the law firm of Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw Pittman. The decision opens:

International Counsel

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The government yesterday filed a reply in support of its renewed motion for summary affirmance in Rimi et al. v. Obama et al., a case pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

In 2006 … Read more »

As readers know, last Thursday the Senate approved Senator Feinstein’s amendment to the NDAA, regarding the domestic detention of citizens and lawful permanent residents.

That wasn’t all.  Now, after further debating and voting, the Senate’s updated bill also conditions the … Read more »

I agree entirely with Ken that DOD General Counsel Jeh Johnson’s speech on the end-of-conflict with al Qaeda “makes a serious attempt to grapple with the conditions defining the endgame” and is “a significant articulation of the US government’s view … Read more »

The Obama administration has threatened to veto the NDAA if it contains provisions that continue to restrict transfer or Guantanamo detainees into the United States or to other countries, and NSC spokesman Tommy Vietor — reiterating the President’s recent statements … Read more »

Here’s the Obama Administration’s statement of policy regarding the Senate’s version of the NDAA for FY2013.   The document begins as follows:

The Administration appreciates the Senate Armed Services Committee’s continued support for our national defense and supports a large number

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You want ‘em?  We got ‘em.

Here are some more counterterrorism-relevant amendments to the Senate’s version of  NDAA 2013—all offered by Senator Sessions: Nos. 3009 (conditioning the availability of certain funds for the Executive Office of the President on prior … Read more »

Lots of news coverage this morning about this GAO report, released yesterday by Senator Dianne Feinstein, on housing Guantanamo detainees in the United States. Here’s Spencer Ackerman of Wired Danger Room. Here’s the Associated Press. Here’s the executive … Read more »

Apropos of the amendment proposed by Senator Feinstein and others, and tonight’s NDAA discussion in the Senate, here’s a quick review of S. 3254, the NDAA 2013 bill that the Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously approved earlier this year.… Read more »

What’s a habeas petitioner to do, if 1) current and former U.S. military officials believe that he no longer poses a significant threat, and that his law of war detention is no longer necessary; but 2) a Periodic Review Board … Read more »

As Ritika noted earlier today, the New York Times editorial page has renewed its call for the Obama administration to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay. (I’ll take it from Ben’s lack of snark that he judges the Times… Read more »

Vice Admiral (Retired) Bruce MacDonald, the Convening Authority for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, has filed his appellate brief in Al-Nashiri v. MacDonald.  That’s the civilian court lawsuit brought by commission defendant Abd Al Rahim Hussein Al-Nashiri, and now … Read more »

In papers filed Friday, the government renewed its request for a summary affirmance, and opposed an attempt by habeas petitioner Mohammed Rimi to remand his appeal to the district court.

Rimi was transferred from Guantanamo to Libya in 2006.  … Read more »

District Judge Paul L. Friedman has denied a motion for relief from judgment filed by habeas petitioner Hussain Salem Mohammad Almerfedi.  (The court’s classified opinion is dated October 26; a redacted version was not released until yesterday.)

Almerfedi prevailed before … Read more »

I agree with much of what Jack says in his recent post about the counterterrorism issues likely to face President Obama in his second term.  But there’s one aspect of how Jack frames the discussion that I disagree with somewhat.  … Read more »