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INTERNATIONAL
LAW SINCE SEPTEMBER 11 – A TIMELINE
By Anthony Dworkin and Ariel Meyerstein
September
11
Hijacked airliners are flown into the twin towers of the World Trade
Center in New York and the Pentagon, outside Washington DC. A fourth
plane crashes in Pennsylvania. In an address to the nation, President
Bush describes the attacks as "deliberate and deadly terrorist
acts." He says he has directed the US intelligence and law
enforcement communities "to find those responsible and bring
them to justice," adding that the US "will make no distinction
between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor
them."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010911-16.html
September
12
President Bush declares that the attacks were "acts of war."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010912-4.html
The
United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 1368, recognizing
"the inherent right of individual and collective self-defence"
and calling on all states to work together to bring the perpetrators
of the attacks to justice.
http://daccess-ods.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N01/533/82/PDF/N0153382.pdf?OpenElement
The
North Atlantic Council for the first time invokes Article 5 of NATO’s
founding treaty, stating that an armed attack against any member
state shall be considered as an attack against all.
http://www.nato.int/docu/pr/2001/p01-124e.htm
September
18
Congress passes a resolution giving the President authorization
for the use of force "against those nations, organizations,
or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided
the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored
such organizations or persons."
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/sept_11/sjres23_eb.htm
September
20
In an address to a joint session of Congress, President Bush says
all the evidence suggests al-Qaeda was responsible for the attacks,
and warns the Taliban regime that they must "hand over the
terrorists, or they will share in their fate."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html
The
Department of Justice issues an Interim Rule stating that non-citizens
can be detained for 48 hours without charge, or in the event of
an "emergency of other extraordinary circumstance" for
"an additional reasonable period of time."
http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/vll/fedreg/fr2_pdf/fr20se01R.pdf
September
21
Chief Immigration Judge Michael Creppy sends a memo to immigration
judges, advising them that deportation hearings for people suspected
of involvement in terrorism should be unannounced and closed to
the public.
http://www.aclu.org/court/creppy_memo.pdf
October
4
The British government issues a statement saying it is confident
that Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network "planned and
carried out the atrocities of 11 September," and setting out
the evidence for their conclusion.
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/page3554.asp
October
7
US military forces launch ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’
against Taliban and al-Qaeda facilities in Afghanistan. In a televised
address, President Bush says US actions "are designed to disrupt
the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations, and to
attack the military capability of the Taliban regime."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/10/20011007-8.html
October
26
President Bush signs the USA Patriot Act into law. The act gives
the Attorney General the power to detain foreigners if he has "reasonable
grounds to believe" that they are engaged in an activity that
endangers the national security of the United States, so long as
they are charged or released within seven days. It also allows him
to deport or refuse entry into the country to anyone who supports
or raises money for a terrorist group.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/sept_11/hr3162_eh.htm
October
30
The Department of Justice issues an interim rule allowing prison
authorities to monitor communications between inmates and their
lawyers, where the Attorney General has certified that "reasonable
suspicion exists" that the inmate is using these communications
to further or facilitate acts of violence or terrorism.
http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/bop_rule.pdf
November
13
President Bush issues a military order authorizing the creation
of military tribunals to try non-US citizens if there is "reason
to believe" that they are members of al-Qaeda or have been
involved in planning or committing acts of terrorism against the
United States. The order gives the Secretary of Defense the authority
to detain anyone liable to trial by the commissions within or outside
the United States.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011113-27.html
The
Afghan capital Kabul falls to the Northern Alliance after Taliban
fighters abandon the city.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/13/international/asia/13MILI.html
December
7
Taliban forces abandon their stronghold of Kandahar in the south
of Afghanistan, the last city they had occupied, completing their
fall from power.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/08/international/08AFGH.html
December
11
The Department of Justice announces that it has indicted Zacarias
Moussaoui on charges of conspiring with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda
to commit the terrorist acts that took place on September 11. The
indictment lists six counts against Moussaoui, four of which carry
the death penalty, and alleges that Moussaoui underwent the same
preparation as the 19 men suspected of hijacking the four jet airliners.
http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2001/agcrisisremarks12_11.htm
December
22
Hamid Karzai is sworn in as the new leader of Afghanistan.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/23/international/asia/23GOVE.html
January
11
The first group of captives transferred from Afghanistan begins
detention at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Photographs of
the detainees in orange jumpsuits, apparently hooded and in chains,
provoke an international outcry.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1754444.stm
January
15
The Department of Justice announces that it is filing criminal charges
against John Walker Lindh, a US citizen taken prisoner while apparently
fighting alongside Taliban forces. He is charged with conspiring
to kill members of the US military in Afghanistan, and with providing
material support and resources to foreign terrorist organizations,
including al-Qaeda.
http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2002/011502walkertranscript.htm
January
29
In his State of Union Address, President Bush says Iraq, Iran and
North Korea constitute an "axis of evil," and claims that
"by seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose
a grave and growing danger." The President warns that these
countries could provide these weapons to terrorists, blackmail the
United States, or attack its allies.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html
February
7
The White House announces that President Bush has determined that
the Third Geneva Convention applies to Taliban detainees, but not
al-Qaeda detainees. The announcement confirms that neither group
is entitled to prisoners of war status, but says that it will nevertheless
accord the detainees most of the rights to which POW’s are
entitled.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/02/20020207-13.html
March
21
The Department of Defense announces the guidelines for the military
commissions authorized to try suspected terrorists captured during
the campaign against terrorism. At the same time Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld asserts that the United States has the right to
hold detainees without trial, or even after acquittal, until the
end of the war against terrorism, as is standard with enemy combatants
captured during the course of a war.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2002/d20020321ord.pdf
March
27
Twenty-nine people are killed in the suicide bombing of a Passover
dinner in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya. The bomber is identified
as a member of Hamas from the West Bank city of Tulkarem.
http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0le00
March
29
Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield – a series of military
incursions into West Bank towns. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announces
that the purpose of the operation is to "crush the Palestinian
terrorist infrastructure," and describes Yasser Arafat as an
enemy who will be "isolated." Defense Minister Binyamin
Ben-Eliezer claims that the security forces are engaged in "an
all-out war against terrorism." http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0ldy0
April
3
Israeli security forces begin their incursion into the West Bank
town of Jenin. During the course of their operation, the town is
closed to reporters. There are widespread reports of violations
of the laws of war, and allegations from the Palestinians that a
"massacre" is being committed.
Independent reports later find that there were serious violations
of humanitarian law, but find no evidence of a "massacre."
Human Rights Watch Report, "Jenin: IDF Military Operations"
http://hrw.org/reports/2002/israel3/
April
18
Fighting in Jenin between the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian
fighters ends.
April
21
The New York Times reports that the US government is considering
the announcement of a new legal doctrine that would allow it to
charge members of al-Qaeda with conspiracy to commit war crimes,
in the absence of any evidence that they had actually engaged in
criminal acts. Perhaps because of the negative reaction generated
by the report, the doctrine was not subsequently announced.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/21/national/21TRIB.html
May
6
The United States announces that it has no intention of becoming
a party to the International Criminal Court, in effect repudiating
the signature of the Rome Treaty by the Clinton administration in
December 2000.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2002/9968.htm
June
1
In a speech to the West Point Military Academy, President Bush outlines
a new US strategic doctrine of pre-emption. He warns that containment
and deterrence will not work against terrorist groups or unbalanced
dictators with weapons of mass destruction: "If we wait for
threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020601-3.html
June
10
The US Attorney General, John Ashcroft, announces that the government
has in custody a US citizen named Abdulla al-Muhajir (formerly Jose
Padilla), who was arrested in Chicago and was allegedly "involved
in planning future terrorist attacks," including the explosion
of a "dirty bomb" in the United States. Ashcroft announces
that al-Muhajir is being transferred to military authorities to
be held as an enemy combatant.
http://www.usdoj.gov:80/ag/speeches/2002/061002agtranscripts.htm
June
30
In the UN Security Council, the United States vetoes a resolution
extending the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia,
because other members refuse to exempt peacekeeping troops from
countries that have not ratified the Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court from the court’s jurisdiction.
July
1
An American gunship attacks a number of compounds in southern Afghanistan,
including one where a wedding party is taking place; according to
the Afghan government, 48 civilians are killed. President Bush later
describes the incident as a "tragedy"; US military officials
say they attacked after receiving anti-aircraft fire.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/03/international/asia/03MILI.html
July
12
The United States and other members of the UN Security Council reach
agreement that UN peacekeepers from countries that are not parties
to the ICC are exempted from its jurisdiction for a renewable period
of one year.
(insert PDF)
August
2
Judge Gladys Kessler of the District of Columbia orders the US government
to release the names of all people detained during the anti-terrorism
investigation in the United States. It is the role of the judiciary
"to ensure that our government always operates within the statutory
and constitutional constraints which distinguish a democracy from
a dictatorship," she writes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac3/ContentServer?pagename=article&articleid=A36767-2002Aug2&node=nation/specials/attacked/archive
August
3
President Bush signs into law the American Servicemembers Protection
Act, legislation directed against the International Criminal Court
that authorizes withholding military aid from some countries that
sign up to the court, and the use of force to free US personnel
from the court.
http://www.usaforicc.org/ASPA.htm
August
13
US threatens to withhold military aid if countries do not sign Article
98 agreements agreeing not to surrender US citizens to the International
Criminal Court.
(insert PDF File)
August
16
Judge Robert G. Doumar of Virginia orders the US government to provide
evidence to support their designation of the US-born Yaser Esam
Hamdi as an unlawful enemy combatant. Hamdi had been picked up by
US forces in Afghanistan, and is being held in a navy brig in Virginia.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/17/national/17DETA.html
August
26
A federal appeals court in Cincinnati rules that deportation hearings
for people detained during the anti-terrorism investigation must
be open to the public.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac3/ContentServer?pagename=article&articleid=A64994-2002Aug26&node=nation/specials/attacked/archive
Newsweek
publishes a detailed report alleging that Northern Alliance forces
allied to the United States killed several hundred prisoners after
their surrender at Kunduz in November 2001. The report (based on
an initial investigation by Physicians for Human Rights) says the
prisoners suffocated while being transported in airless containers.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/795153.asp
August
28
German prosecutors charge Moroccan-born Mounir el-Motassadeq with
supporting the work of the al-Qaeda cell in Hamburg that planned
the September 11 attacks. Prosecutors claim that Motassadeq managed
the bank accounts of some of the al Qaeda members taking flight
school lessons in the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/28/international/28CND-GERM.html
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