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Murder by an Unprivileged Belligerent Is Not a War Crime

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Murder by an Unprivileged Belligerent Is Not a War Crime THE UNILATERALUNILATERAL CREATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW DURINGDURING THE "WAR"WAR ONON TERROR": MURDER BY AN UNPRIVILEGEDUNPRIVILEGED BELLIGERENT IS NOT AA WARWAR CRIMECRIME Noman Goheer*Goheer* INTRODUCTION On July 4, 2006,just2006, just fivefive days days after after the the Supreme Supreme CourtCourt ruledruled in Hamdan v.v. Rumsfeld,'Rumsfeld,' prosecuting attorneysattorneys ProfessorProfessor NealNeal KatyalKatyal of Georgetown University Law Law Center Center and and LieutenantLieutenant CommanderCommander Charles Swift flewflew toto Guant~namoGuantanamo Bay,Bay, CubaCuba (Guantdnamo)(Guantanamo) to meet their client,client, Salim Hamdan, and tell him the Supreme Court declared the militarymilitary commissions hehe waswas to to be be tried tried underunder uncon- stitutional.2 WhileWhile explainingexplaining theirtheir seminalseminal victoryvictory to Hamdan,Hamdan, they said that "[i]"[i]n n 50 to 100100 years, law studentsstudents willwill bebe readingreading this case and reading your name."'name."3 HamdanHamdan respondedresponded that that " "[m]aybe[m] aybe I'll change my name.name. II just want to go home."'home."4 While Hamdan's resignationresignation isis understandableunderstandable consideringconsidering his five-year confinement confinement atat Guantnamo,Guantanamo, the legal communitycommunity be- lieved Katyal andand SwiftSwift did did thethe impossible.impossible.'5 TheyThey wonwon aa casecase strik-strik- ing downdown aa judicialjudicial systemsystem thatthat depriveddeprived itsits participantsparticipants ofof constitutional rights.6 In eighteight MilitaryMilitary Commissions Instructions (MCI(MCI No. 1-8), the Department ofof Defense (DOD) delineateddelineated procedures to guide the * J.D. CandidateCandidate (2008),(2008), WashingtonWashington CollegeCollege of of Law, Law, AmericanAmerican University;University; M.A.M.A. Candidate (2008),(2008), SchoolSchool of of International International Service Service — - AmericanAmerican University;University; B.A., Emory University, 2005.2005. I am grateful toto thetheJ.A.G. J.A.G. officers atat the Office of thethe Chief Defense Counsel in thethe OfficeOffice of MilitaryMilitary CommissionsCommissions at at thethe DepartmentDepartment of Defense forfor their help, particularly Major Tom Fleener, Major Dan Mori, and Col.Col. DwightDwight Sullivan. I am alsoalso gratefulgrateful toto ProfessorProfessor RickRick Wilson,Wilson, Tritia Yuen, and my family forfor their gui- dance and supportsupport asas II waswas writing this piece. II alsoalso want toto give special thanksthanks to the staff of the New York City Law Review.Review. I HamdanHamdan v.v. Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld, 126126 S.S. Ct. Ct. 2749 (2006).(2006). 2 SeeSee T.R. Goldman, Katyal's Crusade:Crusade: How an OverachievingOverachieving LawLaw ProfessorProfessor Toppled the President's Terror Tribunals, LEGAL TIMES, TIMES, Jul. Jul. 31, 31, 2006 2006 at at1, 1,18, 18, http://www.law.com/ http://www.law.com/ jsp/article.jsp?id=1jsp/articlejsp?id=1155027927847 155027927847 (describing(describing NealNeal Katyal'sKatyal's unexpectedunexpected win wherewhere the Supreme CourtCourt declareddeclared PresidentPresident GeorgeGeorge W.W. Bush'sBush's post-9/11post-9/11 militarymilitary commissions system unconstitutional). 3 Id.Id. 4 Id.Id. 5 See,See, e.g.,e.g., id.id. at 1717 (reporting(reporting aa "prominent "prominent law law professor's"professor's" adviceadvice toto KatyalKatyal asas "My realreal adviceadvice toto youyou isis toto givegive up up thethe argument"). 6 Hamdan,Hamdan, 126126 S. Ct. at 2759. 533 HeinOnline -- 10 N.Y. City L. Rev. 533 2006-2007 534 NEW YORK CITY LAW REVIEWREWFW [Vol.[Vol. 10:533 war-crimes trialstrials of of thethe GuantdnamoGuantanamo detainees.detainees.'7 ThisThis CommentComment discusses "murder"murder by anan unprivilegedunprivileged belligerent,"belligerent," an offenseoffense chargeable byby militarymilitary commissionscommissions in MCI No. 2.2.88 During thethe UnitedUnited States'States' hostilitieshostilities with the TalibanTaliban inin No-No- vember 2001, militiamilitia forcesforces captured captured HamdanHamdan andand turned himhim overover to thethe U.S.U.S. military.military.99 InIn June June 2002,2002, thethe U.S.U.S. transportedtransported himhim toto GuantdnamoGuantanamo where he waswas laterlater charged withwith oneone count ofof con-con- spiracy "to commit .... offensesoffenses triable by military commission."'commission."' While Hamdan's chargecharge includedincluded conspiracyconspiracy to commit murder by an unprivilegedunprivileged belligerent, itit diddid not include a directdirect chargecharge ofof murder byby anan unprivilegedunprivileged belligerent.belligerent. TheThe onlyonly detaineesdetainees charged with either attemptedattempted murdermurder byby anan unprivilegedunprivileged belliger-belliger- ent oror murdermurder byby anan unprivilegedunprivileged belligerentbelligerent in thethe originaloriginal tenten commission trials prior to thethe enactmentenactment ofof the the Military Military Commis-Commis- 12 sions Act of 2006 werewere OmarOmar Khadr" andand DavidDavid Hicks.iHicks. 2 7 DEP'TDEP'T OFOF DEF.,DEF., MILITARYMILITARY COMM'NCOMM'N INSTRUCTIONS, INSTRUCTIONS, Nos. Nos. 1-8 1-8 (2003), (2003), available at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2004/commissions_instructions.htmlhttp://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2004/commissionsinstructions.html (follow(follow hyperlinks for individualindividual Military Commission Instructions)Instructions) [hereinafter MCI].MCI]. See also Hamdan, 126126 S.S. Ct.Ct. at 27772777 (defining(defining thethe jurisdictionjurisdiction ofof aa lawlaw ofof warwar militarymilitary commission as extending onlyonly toto (1)(1) ""'[v] [v] iolationsiolations ofof thethe lawslaws andand usagesusages ofof warwar cog-cog- nizable by militarymilitary tribunals,'"tribunals,'" and (2)(2) ""'[b] [b] reaches of military ordersorders or regulations which areare not not legally legally triable triable by bycourt-martial"' court-martial"' (quoting (quoting WILLIAM WILLIAM WINTHROP, WINTHROP, MILITARY MILITARY LAW AND AND PRECEDENTS PRECEDENTS 839 839 (2d (2d ed. ed. 1920)1920))); )); DEP'T DEP'T OF OF THE THE ARMY,ARMY, FM 27-1027-10 DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY FIELD FIELD MANuAL: MANUAL: THE THE LAW LAW OF OFLAND LAND WARFARE WARFARE 505(a), q 505(a), at at180 180 (1956), (1956), available atat http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/law_warfare-1956.pdfhttp://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/MilitaryLaw/pdf/law warfare-1956.pdf [hereinafter U.S. U.S. ARMY ARMY FIELDFIELD MANUAL] MANUAL] (providing (providing that that "[a]ny "[a]ny person person charged charged with a war crime has the rightright toto aa fairfair trialtrial onon thethe factsfacts andand law").law"). 8 MCIMCI No. 2,2, supra note 7,7, §§ 6(B) 6(B) (3), available at http://www.defenselink.mil/ news/May2003/d20030430milcominstno2.pdf. TheThe Department of Defense defines the crimecrime ofof "Murder"Murder byby anan UnprivilegedUnprivileged Belligerent"Belligerent" as: a. ElementsElements: (1)(1) The accusedaccused killed one or moremore persons;persons; (2) TheThe accused:accused: (a) intended toto killkill oror inflictinflict greatgreat bodily harm on such person or persons or (b) intentionallyintentionally engaged in an act that is inherently dangerous toto anotheranother andand evincesevinces aa wantonwanton disregard for human life;life; (3)(3) The accused did not enjoyenjoy combatant immunity; and (4) The killingkilling took place in the context ofof andand waswas associatedassociated with armed conflict;conflict; b. Comments: (1) The termterm 'kill''kill' includes intentionally causing death, whether directly oror indirectly; (2)(2) Unlike the crimes ofof willful killingkilling oror attacking civilians, inin whichwhich thethe victim's status is aa prerequi-prerequi- site to criminality,criminality, for this offense the victim's status isis immaterial.immaterial. Even an attack on a soldier would be a crime ifif thethe attacker did not enjoy 'belligerent'belligerent privilege' or 'com- batant immunity.' Id. 9 Hamdan,Hamdan, 126126 S. Ct. at 2759.2759. 1010 Id.Id. 11I1 SeeSee Charging Document at III 23-24,23-24, UnitedUnited StatesStates v.v. Khadr, available at http:// www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2005/d20051104khadr.pdfwww.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2005/d200511O4khadr.pdf (charging(charging Khadr with thethe murder ofof aa U.S.U.S. soldiersoldier "while"while in the contextcontext ofof andand associatedassociated withwith armed conflictconflict and withoutwithout enjoyingenjoying combatantcombatant immunity").immunity"). 1212 SeeSee Charging DocumentDocument at 1 21, UnitedUnited StatesStates v.v. Hicks,Hicks, available at http:// www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2004/d20040610cs.pdf (charging(charging HicksHicks with the at-at- tempted murder ofof Coalition Coalition forcesforces "while"while he did not enjoy combatant immunity and such conductconduct takingtaking placeplace inin thethe contextcontext ofof and and associatedassociated withwith armedarmed conflict").conflict"). HeinOnline -- 10 N.Y. City L. Rev. 534 2006-2007 2007] UNILATERAL CREATIONCREATION OF INTERNATIONALINTERNATIONAL LAW 535 The chargecharge murdermurder byby anan unprivilegedunprivileged belligerentbelligerent illustratesillustrates the arbitrary naturenature ofof thethe militarymilitary commissions.commissions. TheThe legallegal situa-situa- tion surrounding thethe "War"War onon Terror"Terror" andand the 9/11 attacksattacks on the World Trade Center and the PentagonPentagon hashas created questions
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