Something jumped out at me while reading this article. Specifically, the reasoning given for indefinite detention, without charge, of suspected terrorists is that this is lawful until the end of a war.

So when exactly are we going to be able to say that we’ve won the War on Terror?

Please don’t misunderstand. I think terrorists are scum and they deserve to be dealt with harshly. When you wrap your mind around the fact that terrorists would gladly see innocent women and children die in order to gain something political, you’ll understand that there is no dealing with them.

But that doesn’t mean that what we’re doing is right ethically or even politically. I don’t think that using the cover of an ongoing and open ended war on a concept to hold people without charging and trying them, forever, is right. If we have evidence against these people, let’s have it presented in a court of law. If we don’t, have we a right to detain them?

We need to be better than those we oppose, otherwise what’s to distinguish us from them? They use bombs, we use prisons, but ultimately everyone involved is destroying lives, families, trust. I understand the need to hold some things in confidence and don’t expect all intelligence to be made public. Still, there should be some way to show that a process is being followed that honors our American way of life and adherence to the law. We are a nation of laws, not of men, and certainly not of fear (or fear mongering).