On September 14 , 2001 , Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists , giving the President of the United States broad powers to prosecute a Global War on Terror in response to the September 11 attacks . Secretary of State Colin Powell and State Department Legal Advisor William Howard Taft IV advised that the President must observe the Geneva Conventions . Colonel Lawrence Morris proposed holding public hearings modeled on the Nuremberg trials . Major General Thomas Romig , the Judge Advocate General of the United States Army , recommended any new military tribunals be modeled on existing courts-martial
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Rasul v. Bush