The Ghost in the Global War on Terror: Critical Perspectives and Dangerous Implications for National Security and the Law

Nick J. Sciullo, Graduate, West Virginia University College of Law

Abstract

In this Article, I set out to discuss the dangerous implications of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) and, more generally, the at- tempts of the United States government to address notions of terror- ism and its effect on the safety of the United States and world citi- zens. I am primarily concerned with engaging a poststructuralist cri- tique of the GWOT to strengthen legal discussions of terrorism and national security policy. While many in the legal academy have fo- cused on particular issues relating to terrorism, I will engage in a macro-level analysis of the way the legal academy conceptualizes terrorism1——not how it discusses acts of terrorism. While I am con- cerned with the legal basis for the GWOT, I am more concerned with how our idea of terrorism affects our ability to address terror- ism in our legal and political lives and how these decisions affect our national and personal security. Using the concept of the ghost in the machine2 to help further the poststructuralist criticism, I will demonstrate the utility of applying poststructural and postcolonial criticisms to terrorism and the GWOT. In conclusion, I argue that the GWOT has far-reaching implications that threaten to debase our legal system and our civil rights regime. The goal of this Article is to provide a poststructural and postcolonial legal framework through which scholars, students, and practitioners may analyze their own work on terrorism.