According to the United States' national security strategy, "America must stand firmly for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity", including "the rule of law" and "limits on the absolute power of the state".

Its national strategy for combating terrorism concludes by saying much the same thing, and adds: "We understand that a world in which these values are embraced as standards, not exceptions, will be the best antidote to the spread of terrorism. This is the world we must build today".

Instead the USA built a prison camp at its military base in Guantnamo Bay in Cuba and filled it with detainees from around the world, including a number of children. Two years after the first of these prisoners arrived, Camp X-Ray and its successor, Camp Delta, have become synonymous with a government's pursuit of unfettered executive power and disregard for the rule of law.