Introduction

Tomorrow morning at approximately 4:45 AM EST, I will wake up in the comfort of my Upper Marlboro, Maryland hotel room to begin my journey to the beautiful country of Cuba. While embarking on a journey to the exquisite Cuban beaches may generate an illusion of a tropical vacation, my ultimate destination is Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB) – also known as “Gitmo.”

Thirty-nine men remain imprisoned at Guantanamo, many apprehended almost two decades, following 9/11 and the initiation of the “War on Terror.” One such prisoner is a Saudi Arabian named Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged mastermind of the U.S.S. Cole Bombing.

It is al-Nashiri’s hearing(s) that I am scheduled to attend during the week of 26 September 2021 – 2 October 2021 through the Military Commission Observations Project (MCOP), an Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law Program. Through MCOP, I have been nominated as an NGO Observer, and my mission is to attend, observe, be seen, analyze, critique, and publish materials on the al-Nashiri hearings.

My Background

My name is Analiese W. Smith, and I am a third-year law student at Indiana University McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was born and raised in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, right outside of Chattanooga. At the ripe age of eighteen, I packed my bags and moved to the Midwest to pursue my undergraduate degree at Indiana University Bloomington, where I ultimately obtained a Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs (BSPA) in Law and Public Policy, a minor in Mandarin Chinese, and a Business Foundations Certificate. It was in the last year of my undergraduate degree that my desire to attend law school emerged.

I began law school at Indiana University McKinney School of Law in August 2019 and quickly learned of the school’s Program in International Human Rights Law (PIHRL), founded and directed by Professor George E. Edwards. My interest in the PIHRL inspired me to enroll in multiple courses taught by Professor Edwards, namely International Law and International Criminal Law. As a student in International Criminal Law and then, later, as a PIHRL Research Assistant, I have worked on teams to conduct research and write of Guantanamo prisoners’ fair trial rights, work that has ultimately contributed to the submission of Universal Periodic Reviews of the United States to the United Nations regarding Guantanamo Bay prisoners’ rights.

In addition to my educational background and experiences through PIHRL, I am also a member of the United States Army Reserves. I was commissioned as a Military Intelligence Officer on May 6, 2018 through the Indiana University Army ROTC Program. From there, I served as the Battalion Intelligence Officer of the 373rd Quartermaster Battalion, conducting intelligence support to petroleum logistics operations. I recently transitioned positions from that of the Company Executive Officer to Company Commander of the 1-415th Infantry Regiment (Det 2), 1st Battalion, Bravo Company.

Given my background in human rights and national security, embarking on my journey to Gitmo tomorrow is of the utmost importance to me. Despite my background, I travel to Gitmo tomorrow to execute one mission: to attend, observe, be seen, analyze, critique, and publish materials on the al-Nashiri hearings from the objective and neutral perspective of an MCOP NGO Observer.

Destination Gitmo awaits.

Analiese W. Smith

NGO Observer, Military Commission Observation Project (MCOP)

Program in International Human Rights Law

Indiana University McKinney School of Law

September 25th, 2021

This weekend I will be traveling to Joint Base Andrews in order to board a military flight to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba to monitor the U.S. Military Commission case against the five men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

I am a third-year juris-doctor (JD) student at Indiana University McKinney School of Law and will be traveling through the Military Commissions Observation Project (MCOP). The MCOP is part of IU McKinney’s Program in International Human Rights Law (PIHRL), founded and currently directed by Professor George Edwards.

My Background and Introduction to the MCOP

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I am from Waxhaw, North Carolina and graduated in 2018 from Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia with a degree in International Relations and a concentration in Peace and Justice Studies. I had always known that I wanted to pursue a career in international human rights law, and I originally choose IU McKinney for law school because of PIHRL.

Since arriving at IU McKinney in the Fall of 2018, I have taken most of the courses covering human rights and international law offered by the law school. I was first introduced to opportunities through PIHRL as a student in Professor Edwards’ International and International Criminal Law classes. My involvement with PIHRL has allowed me to have experiences with clients and practitioners before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Council. My experiences have also involved working with legal stakeholders in Guantanamo Bay and the Military Commissions Defense Organization. These experiences often involved the tumultuous past, and present, of Guantanamo Bay and the calls to ensure the right to a fair trial, the right to humane treatment, and the prohibition of torture and the associated right to receive rehabilitation.

Subsequent posts will discuss the five co-defendants in this case: Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Walid Salid Mubarek Bin ‘Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Ramzi bin al Shibh, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. As a summer intern, I was able to work with the defense team of Mr. Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, also known as Mr. al Baluchi. Unfortunately, as my internship took place remotely during the peak of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Summer 2020, I wasn’t able to complete the internship through the Military Commissions Defense Organization with a classified security clearance. Despite my internship being undertaken in unusual circumstances, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the team, and I learned so much about the dynamics of trial, the proceedings in the 9/11 trial, and the advocacy put forth by the legal stakeholders in Guantanamo Bay. 

I am extremely fortunate that my previous experiences have allowed me to learn about the history, controversies, and nuances of Guantanamo Bay. Prior to my involvement with PIHRL, my knowledge about Guantanamo Bay was extremely limited. I had the same misconceptions as most Americans, including that Guantanamo Bay largely exists outside of controversy.

It is for this reason, as well as so many others, that I take my role as an observer so seriously. It is undoubtedly the individual responsibility of every American to learn about Guantanamo Bay and the Military Commissions. However, I think it is also the responsibility for those of us who have the ability to act as observers, to attend and objectively report on Guantanamo Bay, and to publicize the trials of the Military Commissions with the hope of informing the larger public.  

Preparation For My Role As An Observer

As an NGO observer affiliate with MCOP, my role is to attend, observe, be seen, analyze, critique, and report my observations. My role must be conducted in an independent, objective, neutral, unbiased, and open-minded manner. As an impartial observer, I have a responsibility to myself, the stakeholders of the trial, and future observers to shed my personal beliefs before walking into the hearings every day. 

Thankfully, I have several tools aiding my preparation. 

 

To competently attend and observe, I also have to be well-informed on the current state of the trial. The Gitmo Observer website provides daily briefings, and the Office of Military Commissions makes the filings for each trial available online. I have also benefitted from the helpful reporting of Carol Rosenberg at The New York Times and various reporters at Law Dragon.

Pre-Mission Reflections

After being involved in various projects with PIHRL, and international law classes with Professor Edwards, I’ve learned that the first step observers must often ask themselves is “what is the source of international law?” This is the basis of the questions leading me into my week at Guantanamo Bay – what are the sources of domestic and international law binding on the Military Commissions and are these obligations being upheld?  As I will be attending the hearings the week after the 20^th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and after the first week of hearings since February 2020, the calls for a fair and speedy trial have resurged. 

As a future international human rights lawyer, my interest is in an outcome that protects the rights of both the prisoners and victims and that the operation of the trial is consistent with domestic and international law.

Ellie Halodik, MCOP / PIHRL Affiliate