National Security & Guantánamo Bay Detainees

Is it ever acceptable to violate the rights of the individual in the name of safety for the masses? Does the “war against terror” change the rules of the game? Or has the detention of terrorist suspects at Guantánamo Bay become a modern witch hunt?

The New York Times
The New York Times has a page highlighting its recent and historical coverage of the Patriot Act. You won't want to read all of these articles, but skim for headlines that catch your eye. Start with their summary at the top of the page, however, for a great overview:

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Highlights

Then check out this article, "Naming Names at Gitmo."

This American Life: Habeas Schmabeas
“The right of habeas corpus has been a part of this country’s legal tradition longer than we’ve actually been a country. It means the government has to explain why it's holding a person in custody. But now, the war on terror has nixed many of the rules we used to think of as fundamental.” Is there a parallel to be drawn between the hysteria of Arthur Miller’s Salem and the imprisonment of suspected terrorists at Guantánamo Bay without legal representation – or, in a post-9-11 world, are the rules of the game different? Radio show This American Life explores the issue in this show.

Description of the show and link to the audio:
http://thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=331

Transcript of the show (.pdf):
http://thislife.org/extras/radio/310_transcript.pdf

The Price of Security: Guantánamo Diary
This multimedia presentation of the Discovery Channel’s investigative trip to Guantánamo Bay features amazing and rare photographs.
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/slideshows/slideshows.html

Amnesty International
Amnesty International argues that the detention of “enemy combatants” is a “symbol of injustice and abuse” in our government’s administration. Read their argument here to evaluate it for yourself. First start with the background description here:

http://web.amnesty.org/pages/guantanamobay-background-eng

Then move on to recent updates:

http://web.amnesty.org/pages/guantanamobay-index-eng

Department of Defense
Browse the Department of Defense website on “news about the troops on the frontlines in the global war on terror.”
http://www.defendamerica.mil/

Fox News
President Bush rebuts the allegations made by Amnesty International in this article by Fox News.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,158139,00.html