Counterinsurgency Doctrine
President Obama was elected in 2008, inheriting the laws and policies established post-9/11. During the presidential campaign he promised to close Guantanamo to "restore the standards of due process and the core constitutional values that have made this country great even in the midst of war, even in dealing with terrorism."
On his second full day in office, January 22, 2009, President Obama promised to return America to the "moral high ground" in the war on terrorism. The president signed an Executive Order declaring that the detention center would be closed within one year. (A second Executive Order signed the same day formally banned torture as an acceptable interrogation technique). President Obama said that Guantanamo “has damaged our national-security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for Al Qaeda." (Newsweek, Jan. 6, 2010)
The year passed, January 22, 2010 has come and gone, but Guantanamo remained open as of the spring of 2010. Congress has refused to provide any money for detainees to be transferred to the U.S. for trial or detention. President Obama has stated that he still intends to close Guantanamo , but no firm date has been set. His administration did complete a case-by-case review of every remaining detainee. (At this time there are less than 200 men still being held indefinitely.)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ABOUT COUNTERINSURGENCY DOCTRINE
Quick General Reference on Habeas Corpus
Wikipedia article on "Counter-insurgency"
Counterinsurgency Doctrine: Further Reading
The Interrogators: Inside the Secret War Against al Qaeda by Chris Mackey is a description of how real military interrogators view the challenge of understanding, communicating with, and gaining the cooperation of insurgents.
