Media and Detainee Rights
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Introduction:
The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the subsequent war in
Afghanistan has created some unique problems for the United States government. One of
the issues to be dealt with is what to do with the former Taliban fighters who have been
captured. The most dangerous have been transported to the detainee camp in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba and placed under heavy guard, and, in some extreme cases, heavily sedated.
The main controversy surrounding the detainees is whether or not they should be
considered prisoners of war and be afforded the full protection of the Geneva
Convention. The US insists that the fighters are: (1) unlawful combatants under the
Geneva Convention guidelines and therefore not protected by POW Status; (2) a status of
prisoner of war would end the intelligence gathering efforts among the prisoners and hurt
attempts to thwart further attacks; (3) the US is granting them the majority of the rights
under the Convention and is working to further improve the conditions at the camp.
The international community was the first to criticize the US policy (Bennett and
Robinson, 2002). Soon after, several human rights groups protested the extreme
conditions the prisoners were kept under (Lichtblau, 2002). Others criticized the possible
use of military tribunals, which, unlike Court-martials, do not have established due
process or safeguards against excess. Other countries have raised concern over the
treatment of their citizens in the camps and what possible penalties they could face (all
“1
st
world” nations except the US have prohibitions against capital punishment).
On the international level, this policy threatens the International Coalition lead by
the US and the Administrations response to the above concerns has created a fear of US
unilateralism. Within the US government, there appears to be a spilt on policy. In a
Convention