Council on Foreign Relations

-          Supreme Court to hear transfer cases on Guantánamo
-          Pakistan Closes Schools Nationwide
-          Gates Pushes Japan on U.S. Military
-          France Sends Afghan Migrants Back to Home Country

The United States Supreme Court decided Tuesday (WashPost) to consider whether judges should be able to release Guantánamo Bay detainees into the United States if they are considered not to be "enemy combatants."

The court's decision to hear the case involving a group of Chinese Muslims known as Uighurs could complicate (AP) the Obama administration's plans to close the military prison in January.

The Obama administration says the decision to release detainees should be reserved to the executive branch and that decisions about whether detainees should be shipped to the United States should be decided both by Congress and the executive branch. Lawyers for the Uighurs argue against (WashPost) restricting what judges may do to release freed detainees, based on a 2008 court decision Boumediene v. Bush.

Analysis

By taking on the case, the Supreme Court is putting itself in a position to make the decision (LA Times) on whether the executive branch can keep holding a prisoner even if the courts have found him not to be a threat.  

The case could fizzle out if the Uighurs are resettled in other countries before it is heard and decided sometime after January. That gives the Obama administration months to find places (NPR) for the detained men.

Background

A CFR Backgrounder examines the legal and security issues surrounding the closure of Guantánamo.

A CFR working paper by Daniel Prieto warns that the United States lacks a comprehensive framework for dealing with transnational terrorism.

Talks between Iran and world leaders are moving slowly (Press TV) due to "many technical issues," according to head of the United Nation's nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei. The New York Times reports that an Iranian delegation refused a deal by President Barack Obama to ship its nuclear material out of the country temporarily.

Goldstone Report: Israel took a tougher stance (Washington Post) to international calls for an independent inquiry into its role in the Gaza war last winter. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak blocked a planned cabinet discussion Tuesday on whether to launch an independent inquiry following the Goldstone report.

Pakistan's government closed all schools and universities (Bloomberg) across the country after suicide bombers attacked the International Islamic University in Islamabad, killing at least five people. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing and threatened more violence if the army does not stop its offensive in South Waziristan.

A CFR Backgrounder looks at Pakistan's security forces.

Afghanistan: The BBC reports that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he wants 200 two hundred top poll officials complicit in the election fraud replaced ahead of next month's runoff. Ban's request follows an agreement struck yesterday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to hold a runoff in early November.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates pushed Japan's new democratic-led government on Wednesday to accept a deal (Reuters) to reorganize U.S. military presence in the country. A broad plan to reorganize U.S. forces was agreed upon in 2006 with Japan's conservative party.

China: Human Rights Watch said dozens of members of China's Uighur minority are missing (The Australian), more than three months after violence between Uighurs and China's majority ethnic Han broker out on July 5, killing nearly two hundred. China has sentenced twelve people to death over the conflict.

A CFR Backgrounder looks at the Xinjiang Uighur region in China.

The United States plans to give Mali's army $5 million of military equipment (BBC) to help fight al-Qaeda's operations in North Africa.   Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks in the region since it emerged there in 2007.

Niger: The Economic Community of West African States suspended Niger (All Africa) as one of its members on Tuesday for failing to follow its directive to postpone Niger's legislative elections.

The Washington Post reports that Washington lobbyists are ramping up millions in spending to sway the debated legislation over healthcare reform according to new disclosure reports filed with Congress. Notably, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $35 million on lobbying in the third quarter, more than double what it spent earlier this year.

Brazil: The International Olympics Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday that the Olympics in Brazil would be safe despite drug violence (AP) over the weekend that killed twenty-one people in Rio de Janeiro. The violence came two weeks after the IOC awarded Brazil the 2016 Olympics.

A British-chartered plane took Afghan migrants from Paris back to their home country in a joint effort by Britain and France to crack down on immigration (Guardian). The move comes one month after French policy broke up a mass migration camp in northern France set up by immigrants trying to reach Britain.

EU: Press freedom in several EU countries has dropped significantly (EU Observer) in the past years according to a new report by Reporters without Borders. Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Italy had the most notable drops.

The Wall Street Journal reports that disaster prevention experts are looking to "old-school" warning systems globally to mitigate the loss of life from natural catastrophes.