We as citizens of the United States enjoy certain protections that are stated by the
Constitution and specifically the Bill of Rights. Additional amendments have been added through the years
adding protections that we now accept without question as being “our rights.”
The question that | want you to research in this paper is a question that came about due the “war on
terrorism,” Guantanamo prison, and the new term “enemy combatants.” This term replaces the old PO.W.
(Prisoner of War) classification along with the international rules on treating prisoners and replaces it with a
new “undeclared” status. When President Obama attempted to close Guantanamo, place these enemy
combatants on U-S. soil, and hold trials in criminal courts, the question asked was, do these men retain the
rights and protections afforded all U.S. citizens in the Constitution. Must enemy combatants be Mirandize,
can they take the 5th, do they get an attorney if they cannot afford one, etc.?
The decision to bring these individuals to our criminal courts provides several unique questions for our
legal system. The idea of terrorists being tried in criminal court rather than a military tribunal raises
questions dealing with individual rights, torture (water boarding), and evidentiary procedures never before
experienced in our justice system. Your research paper will provide the reader with various moral, ethical,
and legal consequences of this policy.
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