Civil Liberties, Habeas Corpus, and the War on Terror
Charlotte
Ashford University
04//2013
POL 201
Instructor

Civil Liberties, Habeas Corpus, and the War on Terror have all played a role throughout history. Throughout history, the motivation of man’s self interest has concluded in the domination of those with little or no power in the absence of the rule of law. The war on terror presents an unpredictable challenge for the United States since terrorists are apprehended and deprived of due process. Habeas corpus is considered to be one of the most fundamental guarantees of personal liberty that we cherished as a country since the inception of our Constitution. However, debates have arisen regarding the proper
It came about from before the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks, hundreds of people have been detained by the United States government as part of its war on terror at locations such as the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba and Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Most of these detainees have faced indefinite detention and have neither been charged with a crime nor afforded prisoner of war Status. Many of these prisoners have sought out to use Habeas corpus proceedings to challenge the legality of their detention. However, the government decided that their status as “enemy combatants” outside of the sovereign territory of the United States. In 2004, the United States Supreme Court determined that non-citizen detainees at Guantanamo Bay were entitled to file habeas corpus petitions in federal courts. Congress subsequently made a political determination as to the appropriate scope of habeas corpus and passed legislation that stripped federal courts of jurisdiction to hear Habeas corpus petitions brought by enemy combatants. However, the ruling was shortly overturned which led to President George Bush signing the law of suspending the right of habeas corpus. President Bush’s action drew severe criticism, mainly for the law’s failure to specifically designate who in the United States will determine who is and who is not an “enemy combatant”. Both