It's My Right: Guantanamo Bay Legal Rights and Restrictions

We're taking up the public policy implications of climate change at the final Pizza & Politics of the 2010-2011 season.

September 7, 2011
6:00 p.m. -7:30 p.m. Emerson Library Conference Room, Webster University

Join us for the kick-off Pizza&Politics event of the 2011 season. As always, the pizza's on us; the opinions are all yours!

Here's why this topic matters:
The US Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba is operated by the Joint Task Force Guantanamo with the primary purpose of acting as a detention facility for "terrorist suspects" captured in the US War on Terror, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It holds approximately 250 inmates defined under the Bush administration as "enemy combatants". Following years of debate on the legitimacy of the detention facility and the legal rights of detainees, President Barack Obama announced in January 2009 that he was suspending all ongoing military tribunals, and that the detention facility would be shut down within the year. This action has renewed debate on the pros and cons of the detention facility, and whether or not a similar detention facility and/or legal apparatus should replace the facility elsewhere.

On the one hand of the debate, supporters of the camp claim that it is a necessary evil that acts not only to deter terrorist activities, but also to disrupt the coordination of their various splinter groups.

On the other hand, the camps effectiveness may not justify the numerous breaches of human rights and the violations of international law that have been claimed against it. Questions over whether the detainees can bring forward a writ of Habeas Corpus to force a hearing on their state are also intrinsic to the debate.

Join us for a provocative discussion about Guantanamo and its implications on rights and rule of law.

Explore more Pro/Con conversation about this topic at Debatepedia.

All events begin at 6:00 p.m. on the campus of Webster University in St. Louis. You can watch our Events Archive online via our UStream Channel, Holden Forum Live.