Human Rights expert Ken Gude takes to the Guardian with a rather more optimistic take on last week's court filings from the Obama administration, which made little substantive changes to detainee policy:
Some are unsatisfied with the pace and substance of change the Obama administration has brought to detention policy. I think that criticism is premature. The trajectory of its policy is clear and was highlighted by the announcement in its first week in office the major initiatives to close Guantánamo, renounce torture and stop extraordinary rendition.
When objections have been raised – on the state secrets privilege, judicial oversight of Bagram or even this action – in each instance, the Obama administration was forced to make filings in court proceedings it inherited from the Bush administration on a timeline out of its control. Advocates for a better US detention policy must continue to push hard, but we must also recognise just how difficult it is to responsibly unwind the complete mess created by the Bush administration.
Gude outlines in the piece a detainee policy more in line with international law, one that treats individuals captured outside the geographical zone of combat as criminals rather than combatants, and limiting the military's detention authority to areas of active hostilities, such as Afghanistan and Iraq. I hope that's what the administration is ultimately leaning toward.
-- A. Serwer
