Reaction to Boumediene v. Bush

Most people agree that Guantanamo Bay needs to be shut down. The facility has long been a sore subject to the U.S., resulting in widespread criticism and anger. The ruling in Boumediene v. Bush this past week gives detainees the right to challenge the legality of their imprisonment according to the Constitution. The controversy stemming from this is complex and goes to the core of the American value system. Should the executive branch have the right to such wide interpretation of its powers during wartime as a means of protecting its citizens? Is the judicial branch exceeding its role by stepping into the process of war? What is addressed by Boumediene v. Bush is the use of the term "enemy combatant" and to who this term applies. The term has so far been applied to those captured in the battlefield as well as widely applied to people who pose a threat to national security through means of terrorist plotting. The result is a frightening mess; those who actually pose a threat to national safety are being given the ability to challenge the wobbly legality of their detention. In the article "Boumediene v Bush and the Role of the Courts in the War on Terror", Geoffrey Corn writes, "After a six year saga of legal opinions, policy decisions, and ongoing detentions, the government might finally be forced by this opinion and continuing judicial oversight to clearly articulate and defend the rationale for the expansive application of the term "enemy combatant" that is at the heart of the concept of a Global War on Terror.". The most frightening thing is that it took six years to get to a point where the legality of Guantanamo Bay detention has been set in stone. This is happening much too late in the game. If policy had been set down more clearly rather than using broad terms to fear-monger as a basis for decision making, we might have a suitable resolution to the matter of dealing with people who are national threat. Instead we have had six years of secrecy and been told by the executive powers, "just trust us". Whether this recent court ruling really turns out to be "disastrous" as some have put it remains to be seen. The lesson should be learned that there are great consequences to extreme use of power, especially when thesed consequences are enacted too late.