Comments on Guantanamo Rights case

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on Wednesday in a case to decide the legal rights of terrorism suspects held in the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Following are quotes about the case taken from legal briefs and interviews.

U.S. GOVERNMENT (in brief):

"Congress has authorized a war against an international terrorist organization with no uniformed soldiers, and the detention of its members and supporters is a critical component of any such war."

JENNIFER DASKAL, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (interview):

"It's not just about the Guantanamo detainees. It's about basic checks and balances and the U.S. system of government, and ensuring that even the president is not above the law."

U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (in brief):

"The United States is obliged to respect and ensure the rights set forth in (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). The current system fails to do so. This court should ensure that provisions of domestic law are construed and applied consistent with the United States' continued commitment to the protection of human rights."

RETIRED U.S. MILITARY OFFICERS (in brief):

"If the United States detains 'enemy combatants' without providing a fair and meaningful hearing, it increases the likelihood that foreign forces capturing American troops in the future will ignore the Geneva conventions entirely -- thereby putting the lives of American prisoners at risk."

THE FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES (in brief):

"(Granting detainees broad rights to challenge their confinement) would invite massive detainee litigation, clogging the federal courts and enabling our enemies to wage a propaganda war against us using the platform of our own legal system."

WASHINGTON LEGAL FOUNDATION AND RETIRED GENERALS AND ADMIRALS (in brief):

"The United States can be justly proud of the humane and fair manner in which it has treated those prisoners (at Guantanamo). In particular, the Executive Branch and Congress have worked together to devise a system for ensuring that prisoners not charged with crimes do not remain in detention."

DAVID CYNAMON, LEAD ATTORNEY FOR DETAINEE FAWZI AL ODAH AND OTHERS IN THE CASE (in interview):

"As this stretches out, (our clients) certainly have no belief or faith in the American system of justice. When I tell them about the Supreme Court arguments coming up, they said: 'That's just a joke. Two years ago we were told that the Supreme Court had ruled in our favor and we're still here.'"

(Writing by Randall Mikkelsen and Paul Grant)