Guantanamo Bay: undermining the global war on terror

Joint Force Quarterly, Oct, 2005 by Gerard P. Fogarty

The worldwide promotion of human rights is clearly in keeping with America's most deeply held values. Colin Powell has said, "Respect for human rights is essential to lasting peace and sustained economic growth, goals which Americans share with people all over the world." At the Human Rights Defenders of the Frontlines of Freedom Conference at The Carter Center in November 2003, former President Jimmy Carter was disturbed to find that many participants believed the United States is contributing directly to an erosion of human rights by its policies with respect to the Guantanamo detainees. Moreover, Carter deplored the indefinite detention of the suspects, adding, "This is a violation of the basic character of my country." (31) The 9/11 attacks were horrific, and it is in the interest of all civilized nations that the perpetrators be tried and punished, but long-held American values on human rights must outweigh the desire for retribution. As General John Shalikashvili, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has stated, "The United States has repeatedly faced foes in its past that, at the time they emerged, posed threats of a nature unlike any that it had previously faced, but ... has been far more steadfast in the past in keeping faith with its national commitment to the rule of law." (32) To do otherwise only adds to the growing worldwide anti-Americanism that undermines U.S. credibility, influence, and effectiveness.

Undermining the coalition. The U.S. strategy for winning the war on terror is predicated on creating an international environment inhospitable to terrorists and all who support them. There is a realization that the Nation does not have the option of going it alone. President Bush has stated that the United States will "constantly strive to enlist the support of the international community in this fight against a common foe" because success "will not come by always acting alone, but through a powerful coalition of nations maintaining a strong, united international front against terrorism." (33) A senior official in U.S. Central Command, the regional combatant command responsible for prosecuting Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, called coalition support the Achilles' heel in these operations. The command sees the shaping of domestic opinion worldwide as essential to maintaining a strong coalition.

Democratically elected leaders must be responsive to their constituents. The treatment of detainees at Guantanamo, having fostered animosity toward the United States, thus undermines U.S. efforts to gather international support. (34) Even governments stalwartly behind the war are under siege from their populations. In Australia and the United Kingdom, for example, the governments are under increasing pressure to withdraw from the coalition because of public belief that America's treatment of Australian and British detainees violates the principles that the coalition of the willing aims to uphold.

A Modified Means

The reviews of cases that the administration is conducting in the wake of the June 2004 Supreme Court ruling have now been ruled as insufficient and must be modified to determine the POW status of the detainees. The United States cannot proceed with its Military Commissions without first modifying its Combatant Status Review Tribunals. Should a modified tribunal determine that POW status is warranted, then, as already discussed, the Geneva Conventions demand higher levels of due process for POWs than the Military Commissions allow. Given the administration's views on the POW issue, the more likely outcome is that a modified tribunal will determine formally that POW status should be denied and Military Commissions should follow. It appears, however, that the outcomes of any Military Commissions will not be viewed as legitimate in the eyes of a world already skeptical of the detentions in Guantanamo. The United States can preserve the moral high ground by revisiting the initial interagency group's options and moving the trials into the international arena.