What legal and policy challenges has GITMO presented to The Executive Branch, The Supreme Court and Congress

1 The prison camp at Guantanamo Bay presents numerous legal, institutional, policy and moral challenges.

How do you create a legal and court system for people supporting an ideology that by its very definition operates outside of an established legal system (i.e. non-state actor)?

What legal and policy challenges has GITMO presented to The Executive Branch, The Supreme Court and Congress? Are these challenges in conflict with the international court and legal systems that we have discussed?

How should the legal system be updated to include non-state actors such as terrorists?

2 Compare and contrast the counter-terrorism policies of Presidents Bush and Obama.

Discuss their legal and homeland security justification for their respective policies.

Discuss their respective policies regarding detention and trial of Guantanamo prisoners, interrogation techniques and military commissions.

Were their homeland security policies effective? Recommend potential legal and policy changes that could have made the policies more effective.

3 Choose one of the major policy focus areas of National or Homeland Security listed below. Discuss the following areas of the policy:

Intended purpose

Background and legal justification

Policy description

Roles and Responsibilities

Terrorist Threats (NSPD 9, HSPD 2)

WMD (NSPD 17, HSPD 4)

Biodefense (NSPD 33, HSPD 10)

Cyberspace (NSPD 38, HSPD 23, EO 13636, EO 13691)

Organizational Structure (NSPD 1, HSPD 1)

Critical Infrastructure (HSPD 7)

When responding to your fellow classmates, focus on the challenges to implementing the policy directive (legal, Congressional challenges, organizational issues, conflicts with the non-governmental sector, budgetary issues etc.). Based on the discussed challenges, what recommendations could be made to make the policy directive more effective?

4 Choose one of the articles on The George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security. Discuss the legal and policy implications of the discussed article. In your discussion, make linkages with the National and Homeland Security policies discussed in Discussion Question 1.

In a separate post, discuss the legal and policy issues discussed in the article on Edward Snowden or the interview with President Bush.

5 President Obama and his predecessor President Bush developed both similar and widely divergent homeland security policies. In his first term of office, President Obama made a point to differentiate his polices toward CIA techniques and military tribunals from President Bush. But in his second term of office, many have accused him of sliding closer to the President Bush era policies.

Discuss the legal opinions of President Bush and Obama regarding their legal justification for acting alone and independently without Congressional oversight. Give specific examples of legal guidance provided during each administration to justify their claims.

Did The Federalist Papers or The US Constitution provide any guidance on how Congress or the Courts could curtail an overzealous Executive Branch?

(2) Choose one article each from either the Harvard Law School National Security Journal and the Journal of National Security Law and Policy. Discuss the legal and policy impacts of the issues discussed in the article on the field of homeland security.

NOTE: Please identify the name and author of the article that you are discussing in your discussion.

6Differentiating total rewards to attract employees with the requisite competencies the organization needs in order to achieve its goals and objectives is one of the key functions of the HRM function. Differentiating compensation, benefits and workplace environment such as flex schedules, teleworking or job sharing to fit the needs and desires of different segments of the workplace is a strategy most organizations engage in order to attract and retain the needed employees.

Select two segments of the workforce such as recent university graduates, parents with young children or recently retired military (just a few examples – you may select other categories). Provide a short description of the compensation and benefits you would design unique for each of the two segments.

Provide your rationale for your differentiation.

7Internal equity and external competitiveness are two of the core elements of effective compensation plans. If you are employed, ask your HRM department what steps are taken by them to ensure internally that compensation is assigned in an equitable manner and externally, the compensation for benchmark positions are competitive. If you are not employed, you may either seek the answers from an organization of your choice or research the needed steps and describe the needed steps.

8

Describe one element of the status of unions from the readings such as the diversity of union members, targets for new members, whether unions are gaining or declining in membership or geographic concentrations of unions. Explain If the element you selected has changed over the recent past and if so, share your thoughts on what you feel has fueled the change.

9 The CEO of HHS asks you, the Chief of Human Resources, to assess the vulnerability of the organization for unionization of its employees. Think about the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for unionization and include in your report, what you see as some of the categories you would be sure include. Consider why employees join unions for guidance as you assess the situation.