You are on page 1of 7

Boston College Law School

Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School


Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

January 2003

"Unlawful Combatants' in the United States:


Drawing the Fine Line Between Law and War
Daniel Kanstroom
Boston College Law School, kanstroo@bc.edu

Follow this and additional works at: https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/lsfp


Part of the Administrative Law Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, and the International
Law Commons

Recommended Citation
Daniel Kanstroom. ""Unlawful Combatants' in the United States: Drawing the Fine Line Between Law and War." Human Rights 30,
no.1 (2003): 18-21.

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston
College Law School Faculty Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please
contact nick.szydlowski@bc.edu.
"Unlawful Combatants"
in the United States
Drawing the Fine Line
Between Law and War
By Daniel Kanstroom
Anything that comes up in the Background detained as a "material witness." For rea-
United States tends to be looked at Jose Padilla, a native-born U.S. citi- sons that remain unclear, on June 9, 2002 I
as a law enforcement matter, '... zen, allegedly reentered the United he was designated by President Bush as
decide whether or not he's guilty
or innocent and give him due States from Afghanistan pursuant to a an "enemy combatant" and sent to a
process.' Of course if ...you've plot to detonate a radioactive naval brig in South Carolina, where
got the risk of terroriss.. killing
1 bomb. A Chicago gang member he has been detained incommuni-
thousands or tens of thousands oa
people, you're not terribly interest-
ed in whether or not the person is access to counsel. Yaser Hamdi
potentially a subject for law was seized while
efrcement. fgtn
Donald Rumsfeld, quoted in Tom
Brune & John Riley, Taking Liberties;
CollateralDamage, NEWSDAY, Sept.
15, 2002, at A3.
once convicted of mur-
May the U.S. government lawfully der, Padilla had allegedly
incarcerate a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil converted to Islam in
for an indeterminate period in solitary prison, moved to
confinement without providing the fol- Egypt, changed his
lowing rights: legal process, disclosure name to
of evidence, access to counsel, family Abdullah al
visitation, and judicial review? Before Muhajir,
September 11, 2001, most Americans and,
might have thought the question absurd,
but this is the reality faced by Jose
Padilla and Yaser Esam Hamdi, due to for the Taliban in
their having been designated by the Afghanistan and was
executive branch as "unlawful [or transferred from the U.S.
"enemy"] combatants." Like other base at Guantanamo Bay to
aspects of enforcement after the the Norfolk Naval Station brig after
September 11 attacks--secret removal authorities discovered he was a U.S. cit-
proceedings and unprecedented use of izen born inLouisiana.
material witness warrants, for example- according The U.S. government has argued
their cases provoke and demand to government that, as "unlawful combatants," both
answers to a series of fundamental and sources, met with Al Qaeda members. men should continue to be detained in
unresolved legal questions of U.S. law. Arrested at O'Hare airport, he was first accordance with the "laws and customs

Human Rights Winter 2003


of war," which would mean they have by this court." Such statements raise the Court held that certain enemy belliger-
no rights as criminal defendants or, for fundamental question whether, as a cit- ents--specifically those who "without
that matter, as civil detainees under the izen, he retains such a right, or his uniform come secretly through the lines
U.S. Constitution. This precludes rights unlawful- combatant status-as deter- for the purpose of waging war"-may be
to due process, counsel, bail, or a mined by the government-deprives detained without constitutional protec-
speedy trial and leaves them caught in a him of the panoply of constitutional tions even if they are U.S. citizens:
shadowy post-September 11 no-man's protections available to U.S. citizens [T]he law of war draws a distinc-
land, awaiting resolution of their cases (or to any person detained within the tion between . ..,lawful and
by courts before which they have never United States by the government). unlawful combatants. Lawful
appeared, represented by lawyers with combatants are subject to capture
and detention as prisoners of war
whom they have never spoken. What Is an "Unlawful Combatant"? by opposing military forces.
Fortunately, the U.S. rule of law is The general rule of U.S. law has long Unlawful combatants are likewise
not so easily evaded as some members been that civilian courts have jurisdic- subject to capture and detention,
of the administration might wish. Both tion over citizens detained by the mili- but in addition they are subject to
tary. See Ex parte Milligan, 71 U.S. (4 trial and punishment by military
men's cases are currently under consid- tribunals for acts which render
eration by federal courts pursuant to Wall.) 2 (1866) (a citizen arrested during their belligerency unlawful.
writs of habeas corpus, Hamdi's before Civil War for "holding communication
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth with the enemy," "conspiring to seize This distinction may also be found with-
munitions ... [and] liberate prisoners of
in the structures of international law, partic-
Circuit in Virginia and Padilla's before
war," and inciting rebellion could not be ularly the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The
the U.S. District Court for the Southern
tried by military courts, so long as civil- Geneva Conventions state that members of
District of New York. The specific issues
ian courts were open. This principle was armed forces (such as A Qaeda) qualify for
in both cases are whether the men are
reiterated in Duncan v.Kahanamoku, prisoner of war status if they meet four cri-
entitled to counsel and what information
327 U.S. 304 (1946), which involved teria: (1)being commanded by a person
the government must disclose, to whom,
two trials of ordinary offenses in military responsible for subordinates; (2)having a
about its determination of each man's
courts in Hawaii during World fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a dis-
status as an unlawful combatant.
War II, while civilian courts tance; (3)carrying arms openly; and (4)
were open. The government conducting operations inaccordance with
sought to distinguish
the laws and customs of war. Although it
seems likely that Al Qaeda fighters would
fail the last three criteria, the question-
potentially relevant to Hamdi--whether
Taliban fighters should qualify as lawful
combatants isa closer one. It should be
noted, in any case, that Article 5 of the
Third Geneva Convention requires that a
tribunal determine whether a person is
entitled to POW or even civilian status.
Thus, every captured individual should be
presumed a prisoner of war until deter-
In Padilla v. Bush, No. 02 mined otherwise by a competent tribunal.
Civ. 4445 (MBM) (S.D.N.Y.), the Any person can theoretically be tried
government has relied upon a classified for war crimes, but those given POW
document that has not been given to status cannot be criminally tried for vio-
Padilla's lawyers, although it released Milligan because Hawaii was near the lent acts committed in battle. Some
an unclassified version and apparently active theater of war and under threat of "unlawful combatants" could face trial
has urged the court to review the clas- invasion, but the Court reversed both by military tribunals, but the Bush
sified version. Padilla's lawyers have convictions. Military Order of November 13, 2001,
argued that the court should not base a The possibility of an exception to exempts U.S. citizens, which indicates
decision on either version of the docu- Milligan for "unlawful combatants" that Padilla and Hamdi would end up in
the civilian criminal justice system, as
Th
geea rueo .. la ha lon
happened with John Walker Lindh.
Other distinctions between POW
been tfhat iiUIjIl'i couts hSUr.'~avjurid4iion[e
and unlawful combatant status involve
ove ciizn dine by the miitry
the protections against forced interroga-
tion and harsh detention conditions.
ment until counsel are allowed to con- derives from Ex parte Quirin, 317 U.S. 1 Torture is prohibited against anyone
sult with their client and hear his (1942), and the interstices of internation- under international and U.S. law, but
response. As they wrote in their brief, al law. Quirin dealt with a military com- POWs are more specifically protected
"Jose Padilla should be granted the fun- mission trial of Nazi saboteurs, one of than unlawful combatants against physi-
damental right to have his voice heard whom was a U.S. citizen. The Supreme cal coercion and intensive interrogation.

Winter 2003 Human Rights


Thus, unlawful combatants could face
unmediated and unsupervised interro-
gation and be denied access to coun-
sel, family, or virtually any nonmilitary
personnel (with only the possible
exception of the International
Committee of the Red Cross). Further,
Article 118 of the Convention requires
that prisoners of war be "repatriated
without delay after the cessation of
active hostilities," but the administra-
tion may well believe some of its cap-
tives are too dangerous ever to be
released. So long as Al Qaeda and its
supporters exist, will the U.S. govern-
ment agree there has been, in the
words of the Geneva Conventions, a
"cessation of active hostilities"?

The Role of the Judicial Branch


Textual constitutional authority for a
meaningful judicial role begins with the
Suspension Clause of the Constitution,
which explicitly states that "the privi-
lege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall
not be suspended, unless when in
Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the pub-
lic Safety may require it." Courts have
long construed this provision to main-
tain habeas review, even during times in the context of foreign relations Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678,
and national security, where a 692 (2001).
of declared war. court's deference to the political
In Quinn the defendants had their branches of our nationa govern- Hamdi and Padilla, however, have
status as "unlawful combatants" deter- ment is considerable [and the not yet had the benefit of a status deter-
mined by a properly formed military president wields] delicate, plena- mination by any competent tribunal,
commission expressly authorized by ry and exclusive power ... as the military or otherwise.
sole organ of the federal govern-
statute. The defendants had access to ment in the field of international
counsel throughout the proceedings relations-a power which does Rights of Unlawful Combatants
and were ultimately able to seek judi- not require as a basis for its exer- The fundamental questions at issue
cial review of the findings of the com- cise an act of Congress. in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 296 F.3d 278
mission. Quirin thus stands for the The court concluded that the presi- (4th Cir. 2002), could not be more pro-
proposition that civilian courts should dent was acting in this case with statu- found. Litigation up to the end of 2002
not, at the very least, categorically tory authorization from Congress, and has centered on the rights of unlawful
decline to review habeas cases where that judicial deference extends to mili- combatants to counsel and release. The
the government alleges that a person is tary designations of individuals as government has stated that "enemy
an "unlawful" or "enemy" combatant. enemy combatants in times of active combatants who are captured and
The question of the proper scope of hostilities, as well as to their detention detained on the battlefield in a foreign
judicial review still remains open, after capture on the field of battle. land" have "no general right under the
however. Shortly after September 11, In the context of long-term detention laws and customs of war, or the
Congress authorized the president to of noncitizens, however, the Supreme Constitution ... to meet with counsel
use all necessary and appropriate Court recently stated: concerning their detention, much less
force against "nations, organizations, ITIhe Constitution may well pre-
to meet with counsel in private, without
or persons he determines planned, clude granting an administrative military authorities present."
authorized, committed, or aided the body the unreviewable authority On May 10, 2002, the federal public
terrorist attacks [or] harbored such to make determinations implicat- defender for the Eastern District of
ing fundamental rights ... The
organizations or persons." serious constitutional problem
Virginia filed a habeas corpus petition
Authorization for Use of Military arising out of a statute that, in challenging the government's detention
Force, Pub. L. No. 107-40, 115 Stat. these circumstances, permits an of Hamdi, naming Hamdi and himself
224 (2001). The Fourth Circuit consid- indefinite, perhaps permanent, as next friend as petitioners and seeking
ered this authorization and the fact deprivation of human liberty (1) "private and unmonitored communi-
without any such protection is
that the Hamdi case arose obvious. cations" between the detainee and his

Human Rights Winter 2003


counsel; (2)an end to all interrogations; government, in short, asserted that its tasked with confronting assertions of
and (3)the release of Hamdi from determinations "are the first and final executive authority within the United
"Respondents' unlawful custody." The word." Hamdi at 283. Fortunately, the States that would have been almost
district court held that Hamdi must be court declined to embrace so sweep- unthinkable a short time ago. Perhaps
allowed to meet with his attorney ing a proposition that any U.S. citizen our courts should recall the admonition
because of "fundamental justice provid- alleged to be an enemy combatant in Milligan, written in the aftermath of
ed under the Constitution of the United could be detained indefinitely without the Civil War: "The Constitution of the
States." (Although there is general charges or counsel on the govern- United States, is a law for rulers and
agreement that the Sixth Amendment ment's say-so, with no meaningful people, equally in war and peace, and
right to counsel would not apply to a judicial review. covers with the shield of its protection
formally uncharged "unlawful combat- It seems the government has retreat- all classes of men, at all times, and
ant.") The court specified that this meet- ed from an extreme position, albeit under all circumstances."

Daniel Kanstroom isan associate clinical


OuL
juica sytmms ofotasrin professor and director of the Boston
ofi. exctv uhrt ta ol aebe
College Immigration andAsylum Project
unhikbl shr tim ago.
in Massachusetts.

ing was to be private, with only Hamdi, slightly, as the litigation has progressed.
the attorney, and the interpreter present; The government sought to file an ex
without military personnel; and free parte supplemental declaration that, it
from listening or recording devices of said, would discuss "the military's deter-
any kind. mination to detain petitioner Hamdi as
The United States quickly filed a an enemy combatant." The district
motion for stay pending appeal of the court, after hearing the government's
district court's unmonitored-access evidence, found it insufficient to estab-
order, and the Fourth Circuit granted lish such status because it failed to sub-
the stay. In the meantime, Hamdi's stantiate the primary witness's authority
father filed a separate petition for a writ to make such determinations for the
of habeas corpus, although he did not executive, to specify the nature of
request that counsel be granted Hamdi's alleged affiliation with the
unmonitored access to his son. The dis- Taliban, or to include almost all of the
trict court granted the petition in part, specific evidence on which its conclu-
and the United States again appealed. sions rested. The district court then
At this point, the Fourth Circuit began ordered the government to produce fur-
to consider the hard constitutional ther information (for review in camera)
questions presented by Hamdi's case to support the designation of Hamdi as
and remanded for development of a "enemy combatant" and to explain why
fuller record. he must be held incommunicado.
Hamdi's public defender has Padilla's case, though not as far
argued that "no evidence has been along as that of Hamdi, seems likely to
submitted to support" Hamdi's status raise similar issues. Most recently, on
as an enemy combatant and that December 4, 2002, U.S. Dictrict Judge
Hamdi, as a U.S. citizen detained in Michael Mukasey ruled that Padilla has
the United States, is entitled to consti- the right to challenge his detention in
tutional protections, including unmoni- court and, therefore, to consult with
tored access to counsel. The Fourth counsel. It appears certain that the gov-
Circuit, without specifying a precise ernment will appeal this ruling, as it did
standard, decided the district court had in Hamdi's case. The judge has not yet
not adequately addressed these funda- decided, however, whether there is
mental questions. The court did, how- enough evidence to support the admin-
ever, reject the invitation of the gov- istration's finding that Padilla is an
ernment to dismiss the petition in its "unlawful combatant."
entirety based on the argument that
"given the constitutionally limited role Conclusion
of the courts in reviewing military In a recent case brought by the
decisions, courts may not second- Detroit Free Press against John Ashcroft,
guess the military's determination that 303 .3d 681 (6th Cir. 2002), the court
an individual is an enemy combatant stated, "Democracies die behind closed
and should be detained as such." The doors." Our judicial system now seems

Winter 2003 Human Rights


depose Saddam Hussein. And yet, ly threatened the United States or its
despite the obvious lack of an instant vital interests (aside from attacks on
Introduction and overwhelming threat, the adminis-
tration claimed for nearly a year that it
allied aircraft patrolling the no-fly zones
above Iraq). According to National
continued from page 2
did not need congressional authorization Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, any
The United States should adopt a for such a war. Moreover, even as the threat that Iraq poses is not of an imme-
policy of being a friend who shares its president signed the Joint Resolution, his diate nature; if it were, the president
legendary resources and wealth with the press secretary maintained that the already would have acted. Thus, charac-
800 million persons in the global village authorization was unnecessary. terizing an invasion of Iraq as repelling
who are chronically malnourished. The Constitutionally, the president has a sudden or imminent attack under
nation needs a new foreign policy that the unilateral authority to commit U.S. these circumstances dangerously dis-
lives up to the ideals of human rights troops to Iraq or another rogue state torts the Founders' intent to limit the
proclaimed in the United Nations under the newly promulgated preemp- Executive's authority.
Charter. The United States and all of the tion policy of the National Security Third, time limitations help to clarify
190 nations of the earth pledged in Strategy only if he can show that such the boundary between executive and
Articles 55 and 56 of the UN Charter an action constitutes response to a sud- legislative war powers with regard to
that they would help one another attain den or imminent attack. The administra- repelling "sudden attack." The president
the newly recognized political and eco- tion has provided no evidence that Iraq has the authority and obligation to repel
nomic rights that now constitute the had invaded or intends to invade the sudden attacks because there is no time
public morality of the world. This cannot United States (i.e., as a sponsor of to deliberate, and an individual can act
be done so long as the United States September 11), let alone that it will do faster than Congress. A president who
relies almost exclusively on its military so imminently. Absent such evidence, feared rejection of war plans might not
prowess for its foreign policy. Lawyers of congressional approval is needed. This want them subjected to congressional
America have to act as moral architects conclusion is based upon the following scrutiny, but that decision does not
who will restrain the impetuous policies three points: belong solely to the president.
of the government that teach that vio- First, the scale of military action nec-
lence, armed conflict, and military essary to force a regime change in Iraq
might can solve the moral, spiritual, and (or any relatively stable state) strongly National Security Strategy
human problems that overwhelm much suggests the action would be a "war" as The administration has made clear
defined by the Constitution. In the most that Iraq may not be its only target. On
of humanity.
recent judicial opinion on the subject, September 20, 2002, the president
Robert F Drinan, 5.).,is a professor at Dellums v. Bush, a federal district court issued the National Security Strategy,
Georgetown University Law Center in found "no hesitation in concluding that which proclaims that in order to "fore-
an offensive entry into Iraq by several stall or prevent ... hostile acts by our
Washington, D.C., and a former member
of the U.S. House of Representatives. hundred thousand United States ser- adversaries, the United States will, if
vicemen ... could be described as a necessary act preemptively.... [l1n an
'war' within the meaning of [the War age where the enemies of civilization
Powers Clause]." Dellums v. Bush, 725 openly and actively seek the world's
F,Supp. 1141 (D.D.C. 1990). Congress most destructive technologies, the
would more likely acquiesce to unilat- United States cannot remain idle where
Debate over eral executive decisions involving rela-
tively small forces, but it cannot waive
dangers gather."
Under the doctrine of preemption,
War Powers its constitutional war powers.
Deployment of 200,000 or more
the administration claims the right to
launch wars to prevent harm to U.S.
continued from page 7 interests: in essence claiming the United
troops (or, even a smaller force deploy-
its arguments moved from the idea that ment in conjunction with a massive States may decide unilaterally to pre-
Iraq was somehow behind the terrorist aerial assault), as the Pentagon has emptively invade another country. This
attacks; to a declaration that Iraq, Iran, proposed, is practically and qualitatively policy applies not only to Iraq but also
and North Korea constituted an "Axis of different from the scale of other recent to any state that helps put weapons of
Evil"; to a general justification based on U.S. military interventions, except for the mass destruction in the hands of terror-
Iraq's use of weapons of mass destruc- Vietnam and Gulf Wars (for which the ists. Indeed, in light of recent informa-
tion (WMD) and its animosity to the president specifically sought and tion about North Korea's nuclear
United States; and finally to a moral received congressional authorization). weapons program, this could well be
imperative. Only after the Security Second, invading Iraq to effect a the next point on the Axis of Evil to face
Council took up the debate did the regime change is clearly not an exam- a preemptive war.
administration take a position that Iraq ple of repelling a sudden or imminent
must be disarmed. Despite the shifting attack. At least since 1993 when Iraq Conclusion
rationalizations, the administration's goal may have attempted to assassinate for- The issues remain timely and rele-
has remained the same: the United mer President Bush, Saddam Hussein vant: must the president seek congres-
States will use all means necessary to has neither used force against or direct- sional authorization to order preemptive

Human Rights Winter 2003


invasions of rogue states that may deliver Nonetheless, the Chamber empha- Conclusion
weapons and aid to terrorists? What is sized, the presence of war or mass vio- The Omarska Camp case can be
the correct scope and allocation of war lence cannot shield or excuse perpe- used to demonstrate that even during
powers for preemptive invasions? House trators from prosecution if they know- armed conflict, one cannot turn a blind
joint Resolution 114 did not answer or ingly participate in or facilitate crimi- eye to blatant criminal activity; if you
reduce the urgency of these questions. nal activity. know crimes are being committed and
Both history and the Constitution itself The Trial Chamber heard evidence you perform acts that facilitate the
show that the president is not free to that each accused was present during commission of the crimes, you can be
change the constitutionally mandated specific instances of abuses committed held criminally responsible. It can also
allocation of war powers. in the camp, and it also heard evi- be used to show that women are par-
dence that some of the accused occa- ticularly vulnerable when detained in
Mark R.Shulman is an associate at sionally attempted to assist a few of the facilities guarded by armed men of an
Debevoise & Plimpton and a lecturer at detainees. Ultimately however, the opposing side, and that all necessary
Columbia University School of Law. court concluded that each of the and reasonable measures must be
Lawrence]. Lee isa student at New York accused had participated in a signifi- taken to provide protections against
University School of Law. The authors cant way in the joint criminal enter- sexual violence to such women. Any
acknowledge with gratitude the advice prise that functioned as Omarska planned or foreseeable crimes, includ-
of Daniel Reich in writing this article. camp, a camp where persecution of ing rape crimes, committed during the
non-Serbs through various forms of course of a joint criminal endeavor
physical, mental, and sexual violence cause liability to attach to participants
was rampant. The accused who had in the enterprise.
not physically committed crimes had The degree of culpability, the
showed up for-work everyday despite amount of time spent in the camp, the
the daily murders, tortures, beatings,
Omarska Camp, and other mistreatment and performed
position of the accused, and whether
the men convicted physically perpe-
the tasks assigned to them efficiently,
Bosnia effectively, and without complaint.
trated crimes was taken into account in
sentencing. For the roles they played in
continued from page 14 They had facilitated the commission of facilitating or committing the crimes,
the crimes and allowed them to contin- Kvocka, Prcac, and Kos were given
functioning more efficient or effective, ue with ease and without disruption. five- to seven-year prison terms; Radic
or performing acts that advance the All five accused were convicted of per- received twenty years, and Zigic was
goals of the criminal enterprise. secution as a crime against humanity sentenced to twenty-five years' impris-
for the assortment of evils committed onment. This case is currently on
Persecution and Sexual Violence in Omarska camp. appeal before the ICTY Appeals
Notably, the Chamber also stressed As to the rape crime charges against Chamber.
that any who knowingly participate in a Radic, the Trial Chamber was convinced
significant way in a criminal enterprise that he was involved in "the sexual Kelly D. Askin is director of the Interna-
are responsible not only for all crimes harassment, humiliation, and violation tional Criminal Justice Institute, has pub-
committed in furtherance of the enter- of women" in Omarska camp. Several lished extensively in various areas of
prise but also for all crimes that were witnesses testified to his raping, attempt- international law and justice initiatives,
natural or foreseeable consequences of ing or threatening to rape, or groping and served as a legal adviser-consultant
the enterprise, even if these other them. The Trial Chamber found that the for many war crimes proceedings.
crimes are incidental or unplanned. sexual violence constituted both rape
Consequently, even though there was and torture. The women suffered severe
not evidence to suggest that most of the pain and suffering constituting torture,
accused were aware of the rape crimes in part because the "fear was pervasive
committed in Omarska camp, nonethe- and the threat was always real that they
less these crimes were clearly foresee- could be subjected to sexual violence at
able, as the Trial Chamber emphasized: the whim of Radic." Despite this find-
"it would be unrealistic and contrary to ing, because the indictment failed to
all rational logic to expect that none of indicate whether the sexual violence
the women held in Omarska, placed in committed by Radic was different from
circumstances rendering them especial- the rapes charged as part of the persecu-
ly vulnerable, would be subjected to tion count, they were deemed sub-
rape or other forms of sexual violence." sumed by the persecution count; thus
The Trial Chamber recognized that he was not convicted of rape and tor-
war creates situations where average ture for these crimes as crimes against
citizens get caught up in the violence humanity. Radic was however convicted
or hatred, and people often commit of torture as a war crime for the sexual
crimes they would ordinarily never violence he inflicted upon women in
even have dreamed of committing. Omarska camp.

Winter mm13 Human Rights

You might also like