National Strategy for Combating Terrorists, Essay Example

Suspected terrorists should not be treated as combatants in a war. The fact that they are suspects implies that they still need to be investigated to know whether they can be treated either as combatants of war or as traditional defendant. In the case of Hamdan, who was treated as a combatant of war after his arrest for having served as Osama Bin Laden’s personal driver, can be viewed as violation of the international and domestic law (National Strategy for Combating Terrorists 13). The fact that Guantanamo Bay was established to wage war against terror cannot not imply that suspects of terror should be treated against the laws that protect any criminal suspect. Detainees in Guantanamo Bay might not have been necessarily involved in the terrorism activities directly. However, they might have provided services or rather employed by the terrorist as in the case of Hamdan. This suggests that such particular detainees should not be treated as combatants of war but they should defend themselves as traditional defendants.

Guantanamo Bay is fulfilling its mission as designed. Its main aim was to deal with terrorism by detaining the suspected terrorists and also preventing any possible terror attack plans. The prison has since detained more than 250 terror suspects since its establishment. The detention of these suspects has yielded good results for hunting down other suspects as critical information about terrorist strategies is given by the detainees. There are plans to provide the prisoners with basic knowledge in fields such as agriculture, computer and nutrition as they wait for their trials and rulings. This will be very helpful for them especially for those who will be freed. Therefore, the Guantanamo Bay should continue with its mission but the detainees should be treated as traditional defendants.

Work Cited

National Strategy for Combating Terrorists. Reducing the Scope and the Capability of Terrorist Organizations. Washington D.C., 2003. Print.