Guantanamo Bay

FYI: Heritage WebMemos are getting a new name. Beginning February 13, 2012, they will be called Issue Briefs.  For the 50th consecutive year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012 provides funding and authorities for the U.S.…

Congress will soon debate proposed detainee legislation. Both the House and Senate have several detainee-related provisions in their versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012—the main funding bill for the Department of Defense for the next fiscal year. And as in years past, this debate promises to…

Congress is considering legislation to extend habeas corpus rights (i.e., the ability to challenge the legality of detention in a civil court) to unlawful enemy combatants. Granting terrorists rights to which they are not entitled will not make the world a safer place and will not win over America's enemies and critics.…

Human rights activists, liberal media outlets, and Bush Administration critics have derisively characterized the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the "gulag of our times,"[1] a "legal black hole,"[2] and a "stain on our nation's character."[3] One need not…

While billions are victim to the regular abuse and tyranny of governments such as those of Sudan and China, much of the world's media and non-profit "human rights" resources focus on the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Not a single person has been killed at the facility since it opened, and yet…

From time to time, the United Nations deploys human rights experts-called "special rapporteurs"-to the United States and elsewhere to report on alleged human rights abuses. Over the years, the United States has tolerated the presence of these special envoys to investigate human rights practices regarding various issues, such as the death penalty, freedom of religion,…

FYI: Heritage WebMemos are getting a new name. Beginning February 13, 2012, they will be called Issue Briefs.  For the 50th consecutive year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012 provides funding and authorities for the U.S.…

Congress will soon debate proposed detainee legislation. Both the House and Senate have several detainee-related provisions in their versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012—the main funding bill for the Department of Defense for the next fiscal year. And as in years past, this debate promises to…

There have been at least three attempted terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in the last year and a half: the November 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood, Texas; the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing over Detroit; and the failed car bombing in Times Square in New York City. All three…

On March 22, a federal judge in the District of Columbia ordered that Mohamedou Ould Slahi, one of the most dangerous terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay, be released. Although the Obama Administration has decided to appeal the decision, if the court’s order stands several issues will have to be…

Human rights activists, liberal media outlets, and Bush Administration critics have derisively characterized the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the "gulag of our times,"[1] a "legal black hole,"[2] and a "stain on our nation's character."[3] One need not…

Congress is considering legislation to extend habeas corpus rights (i.e., the ability to challenge the legality of detention in a civil court) to unlawful enemy combatants. Granting terrorists rights to which they are not entitled will not make the world a safer place and will not win over America's enemies and critics.…

Revised September 20, 2007 Recent press reports detail an internal Bush Administration debate over whether to close the mil­itary detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Whether to close the facility is not at the heart of the issue of how the U.S. treats detainees and prosecutes the war on terrorism. Regardless…

Last month, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism visited the United States for the stated purpose of reviewing its counterterrorism practices for compliance with its treaty obligations, such as those in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture.…

From time to time, the United Nations deploys human rights experts-called "special rapporteurs"-to the United States and elsewhere to report on alleged human rights abuses. Over the years, the United States has tolerated the presence of these special envoys to investigate human rights practices regarding various issues, such as the death penalty, freedom of religion,…