--- Dan Minette <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Yes and no. I've seen Rumsfeld state that no trials > are needed....they can > be held indefinately without trial until the war on > terror ends. The > problems with this, compared to a war like WWII, are > obvious I think. The > war on terror will not end until there are virtually > no more terrorists. > So, the Rumsfeld is claiming the right to hold > people without trial > indefinitely. > > Dan M.
And this is a real issue. There are a lot of people in that camp who have dedicated their lives to killing Americans en masse. I think there's a real possibility that they are going to be held for a very, very long time. I don't see another solution to the problem. _But_ there is no right of habeas corpus for battlefield captures. Period. None at all. If these guys were Americans, they would have Constitutional protections. They don't. People like Erik can wave their hands and make demands - but they aren't doing the dying or the deciding. Their hysteria is fundamentally a product of immaturity - they are like five years olds who want a diamond ring. Adults have to make choices and understand the consequences on both sides of actions. I _don't know_ for sure what to do here. I don't like keeping people indefinitely. I _really_ don't want to release Al Qaeda agents into the world. Military tribunals seem to me the best compromise. But either way they are prisoners captured on a battlefield fighting without state sponsorship - this makes them illegal combatants and they _don't have_ even the rights of POWs, and nothing even approaching the rights of American citizens.
Thus, one solution might be for some state (= country, not US state) to claim responsibility for them and their actions. Does anyone think there will be any takers? Particularly since that would mean that state was acknowledging that it had ordered its citizens to attack targets in the US, which would mean that that state would be at war with the US, and do you think any Middle Eastern state could stand up against the US in a regular (.ne. terrorist, .ne. guerrilla) war?
-- Ronn! :)
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