Latest in Guantanamo Bay
The latest appeal, one in a long line of many, raises again an interesting issue about whether the military commission convening authority is properly appointed under the U.S. Constitution.
Judge Mehta’s 2021 decision granting Guantanamo Bay detainee Asadullah Haroon Gul’s writ of habeas corpus defines what the government must show to prove that a member of a former “associated force” should also be considered a part of al-Qaeda.
In 2014, the State Department said that “the test for any nation committed to [the Convention against Torture] and to the rule of law is not whether it ever makes mistakes, but whether and how it corrects them.” In U.S. v. Al-Nashiri, the government is failing that test miserably by openly embracing torture-tainted evidence in violation of federal law, international law, and U.S. policy.
The latest episode of the National Security Law Podcast.
The anniversary of the opening of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is an opportunity to reflect on the facility’s legacy and identify the mistakes made so that they are not repeated.
With the departure of U.S. and coalition forces from Afghanistan earlier this year, the United States ended the central front of its longest war. However, one relic from that war remains: The indefinite detention of presumed combatants at Guantanamo Bay.
A Military Commission Judge sanctioned the government Monday for its misconduct in its prosecution of a Guantanamo Bay detainee.
We are back with an interview-focused episode! Tune in as Professors Chesney and Vladeck interview Brigadier General John G. Baker, USMC. Gen. Baker is Chief Defense Counsel for the military commissions at Guantanamo.
And, yes, there’s frivolity at the end... Bills-themed frivolity!
Last month, the military commission for the matter of United States v. Khalid Shaikh Mohammad et al. (i.e., the 9/11 trial) held a marathon three weeks of nearly back-to-back hearings. After being held up by delays in the publication and release of relevant transcripts, this post summarizes these proceedings and identifies several areas of potential interest, including testimony from two FBI special agents regarding their interviews with the defendants and their prior knowledge of alleged torture by the CIA.
September 9
The military commission trying alleged al-Qaeda commander Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi reconvened Aug. 21-28. You can find previous Lawfare coverage here and here.