Different debates have been held concerning the legality of government's decision on the detention of citizens of the United States within the United States as enemy combats and as well addressing the procedure that constitutionally allows these "enemy combats" an opportunity to challenge their position or classification as such. The former President of the United States George Bush signed this rule. The Congressmen passed the rule following the attack of 2001 by the terrorist group al Qaeda that claimed the lives of approximately 3000 people (Sherwood, 2018). The president signed the rule that stated that anybody both the citizens and non-citizens found to have had a connection with the attack be arrested and held in the military custody. The order also authorized the Secretary of defense to detain these suspects and try them by military tribunals.
Court of Appeal in the Fourth Circuit's stance
The Court of Appeal in the Fourth Circuit stated that all petitioners' detention was legal. The court also asserted that these detainees are entitled to no opportunity of challenging their position as it stands. The members of the Congress approves the authorization on the detention of the combatants (Sherwood, 2018). However, the narrow circumstance alleged in this particular situation deems that due process states that, any citizen of the United States detained arrested, as an enemy combatant should be given the opportunity to fight out or rather challenge the factual basis of his or her detention in the presence of a neutral decision maker. It is therefore of importance that the federal government gives the United States citizens held as enemy combatants a fair criminal trial in the court of law where the judges are neutral and not in military tribunals (Sherwood, 2018). These are citizens, and they have the law to protect them, the government should, therefore, let the law take its course and give these terrorists a fair criminal trial.
Reference
Sherwood, A. P. (2018). Tracing the American State of Exception from the George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump Presidencies. WJ Legal Stud., 8, 1.
