Michael Byers

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America, the United States sent troops to Afghanistan to battle the ruling Taliban and the al-Qaeda terrorist network deemed responsible for the attacks. Captured Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters were transported to the U.S. military outpost at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. In the following viewpoint, Michael Byers asserts that the United States has violated international human rights agreements in its treatment of the detainees. According to Byers, the United States has been inhumane and degrading toward the detainees by forcibly sedating them and shaving off their beards, among other human rights violations. Byers is a professor of international law at Duke University.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Byers, why do the detainees at Guant...