William Mitchell Law Review Volume 36 Article 4 Issue 5 Journal of the National Security Forum 2010 Responses to the Ten Questions Jeffrey Kahn Follow this and additional works at: http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlr Part of the Military, War, and Peace Commons, and the National Security Law Commons Recommended Citation Kahn, Jeffrey (2010) "Responses to the Ten Questions," William Mitchell Law Review: Vol. 36: Iss. 5, Article 4. Available at: http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlr/vol36/iss5/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews and Journals at Mitchell Hamline Open Access. It has been accepted for inclusion in William Mitchell Law Review by an authorized administrator of Mitchell Hamline Open Access. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. © Mitchell Hamline School of Law Kahn: Responses to the Ten Questions RESPONSES TO THE TEN QUESTIONS Jeffrey Kahnt 1. WOULD PRESIDENT OBAMA HAVE THE AUTHORITYTO HOLD A U.S. CITIZEN WITHOUT CHARGE IN A MILITARY BRIG FOR SIX MONTHS IF THAT CITIZEN-WHO LIVES IN MINNESOTA-IS SUSPECTED OF LINKS TO AL QAEDA FOLLOWING A ONE-MONTH TRIP TO SOMALIA? I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 5041 II. THE NON-DETENTION ACT .................................................. 5046 III. EXECUTIVE POWER, INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY, AND THE LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT ........................................................... 5050 IV. CONCLUSION ................................................................... 5057 I. INTRODUCTION No, because this citizen does not appear to be an enemy com- batant. If the citizen were an enemy combatant, then the answer might still be no because the question strongly implies detention without access to a neutral decisionmaker of a citizen seized in the United States and outside of a zone of hostilities subject to the law of armed conflict.