Civilian terror trials are the violation

PROF. ROBERT TURNER

President Obama's deadline for closing the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay expired 102 days ago, and Attorney General Eric Holder has now admitted that at least 40 detainees will be held indefinitely, without trial.

Enough, already: It's time to rescind the order, rule out any civilian trials -- and explain to the world why holding the detainees at Gitmo is the right thing to do under the Law of Armed Conflict (which subsumes what was long known as the Laws of War).

Obama and Holder have repeatedly acknowledged that America is "at war," as did Congress by invoking the War Powers Resolution by a combined vote of 519-1 on Sept. 18, 2001. And the Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that this war is governed by the Law of Armed Conflict -- which permits detention without charge or trial for the duration of hostilities.