CTC Releases Study on Publicly Available 516 Unclassified Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) Summaries

The Combating Terrorism Center is pleased to share the findings of our analysis of this public data as part of the Combating Terrorism Center’s ongoing effort to make information related to aspects of terrorism and counterterrorism more accessible for public scrutiny and dialogue.   Given the politically sensitive and highly charged nature of this topic, we have tried to be as methodologically rigorous and transparent throughout our report as possible.   

We recognize that advocates of America’s current detention policy will point to this study as an illustration of the threat posed by these individuals.  We also anticipate that those justly concerned with advocating for the legal rights of the detainees will point to this study as further evidence regarding the dearth of information made publicly available by the U.S. government about their cases.  It is this debate that we hope to stimulate and inform with this report.       

Any inaccuracies or oversights made in this study are entirely the responsibility of the authors as this report does not reflect the official position of the Combating Terrorism Center, the United States Military Academy, the U.S. Army nor the Department of Defense. 

We sincerely hope that this report will stand as a useful contribution in the ongoing discussion over U.S. designation and detention of enemy combatants. 

Joseph Felter and Jarret Brachman

TRACKBACK COVERAGE OF THE CTC'S CSRT REPORT

• New York Times
• Wall Street Journal
• Boston Globe
• International Herald Tribune