Visitation Rights for Guantanamo Bay Detainees a Disastrous Idea
The Washington Post reports that the Pentagon is considering granting visitation rights to Gitmo detainees, which is yet another sign that the Obama Administration continues to conceive of elements of the war on terror as a law enforcement matter. Visitation rights are common for prisoners in the criminal justice system. The purpose of their time in prison is to punish them for the harms they have done to society. We hope to rehabilitate prisoners and reintegrate them into society when their sentence is over. But prisoners in war are not being held to punish, but to keep them from re-entering the fight and to gain intelligence. Allowing family members to meet with the detainees could undermine these fundamental purposes because al Qaeda terrorists want to continue to fight us, even in detention. Family visits could facilitate the passing of intelligence back and forth, tipping off the enemy about how they were caught and what personnel and plans have been discovered. Lest we be too quick to forget, the successful operation to kill bin Laden shows how intelligence gathered over years can remain of the highest value.
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Jun '10
Re: Visitation Rights for Guantanamo Bay Detainees a Disastrous Idea
And even if you listen, you can't always tell what family members are saying to each other. Let's say long ago, little cousin Ali stepped on some broken glass, and just happened to get arrested for bicycle theft 20 minutes later. The detainee can tell his family that he doesn't like such-and-such town anymore, because "there's always a lot of broken glass around."
May '10
Re: Visitation Rights for Guantanamo Bay Detainees a Disastrous Idea
But, we have no enemies - only people who don't yet know that they're our friends.
Family visits? To Guantanamo Bay? Who pays the travel and accommodation expenses? Oh, I know...
What's gotten into us? Why can't we be tough anymore?
Jun '10
Re: Visitation Rights for Guantanamo Bay Detainees a Disastrous Idea
I'd like to see visitation allowed at Guantanamo. But only visitation by some Navy SEALS who can scare some intel out of the Islamists.
Feb '11
Re: Visitation Rights for Guantanamo Bay Detainees a Disastrous Idea
Professor Yoo, I am not sure if Guantanamo holds both convicted and suspected terrorists, but shouldn't they make a distinction between the parties, perhaps permit visits for those who are merely suspected (but not tried) of terrorist activities, and not for those who have been convicted (or are currently on trial) of terrorist activities? I think a system like that would promote more prosecutions, be they military or civilian, of these detainees, and this way you could narrowly tailor your goal of preventing them from continuing to fight us through conjugal visits.
Jan '11
Re: Visitation Rights for Guantanamo Bay Detainees a Disastrous Idea
I can't find any intellectually honest and consistent way to reconcile a "law enforcement" approach with killing bin Laden.
Don't get me wrong, I oppose the law enforcement approach. But even if I supported it, just from a logical method, how can you reconcile the two? Not possible.
Aug '10
Re: Visitation Rights for Guantanamo Bay Detainees a Disastrous Idea
I'm just trying to figure out the logistics of conjugal visits for a polygamist.