I read this article. Freaking Australians...

The important thing to remember is that these are NOT standard criminal trials. The individuals at Gitmo are prisoners of war. They are being adjudicated as to whether or not we need to continue holding them, based on the threat they represent. POWs do not have the the same rights as US citizens because they are NOT US CITIZENS -- THEY ARE POWs, WHO ARE FORIEGNERS -- THEREFORE, NOT CITIZENS. The Geneva Conventions apply, not the US Constitution.
We got into this mess with terrorism because we treated it as law enforcement, not a war against us. We paid the price on 9-11.

No doubt, lollipops all around would have made it all OK...

djneylon,

I agree with you that a "standard criminal trial" isn't necessarily required under the Geneva Conventions. However, the use of hearsay in these hearings, denial of counsel, and coercive interrogations are all problematic, especially in a "war" with an ill-defined enemy and out-of-uniform combatants. Humane treatment and speedy determinations of status are essential in these cases, and most of the prisoners at Gitmo were denied both.

M. Murcek,

No doubt, lollipops all around would have made it all OK…

Humane treatment of prisoners of war has been part of the American tradition since the Revolutionary War. George Washington himself thought it essential to victory in the Revolution, since stories of humane treatment would make it more likely for enemy soldiers to surrender (especially the Hessian mercenaries) and less likely that Royalist-leaning colonists would be inclined to take up arms against the revolutionaries in the first place. In the present conflicts against Islamic extremism, the same principles would not only provide us with the moral high ground, but would serve the same tactical purpose of making surrender more likely and new terrorists taking up arms less likely.

Alas, George Bush thinks that he's smarter than George Washington. I doubt that history will agree.

Humane treatment of prisoners of war has been part of the American tradition since the Revolutionary War.

Indeed, and it is partly, though only partly, what made us the good guys. Americans should quit watching so much "24" and recognize that not torturing prisoners is one of America's great traditions. When it comes to George W's, I'll take Washington anyday.

I continue to be a lonely voice against giving KSM and co. the dignity of being "prisoners of war," let alone the illegal contrivance of "enemy combatants."

They're freakin' criminals, people. Like Timothy McVeigh. They should be tried, and if found guilty, they should be punished.

Glorifying KSM as an "enemy of the U.S." gives him entirely too much credit.

Mr. Knapp is of course right -- we should have interrogated these people properly, given them trials, and put our system in the spotlight as a showcase for the world.

You know, as if we were actually proud of our country and our system. Which, evidently, our White House is not.

I continue to be a lonely voice against giving KSM and co. the dignity of being “prisoners of war,” let alone the illegal contrivance of “enemy combatants.”

Anderson, it definitely depends on context. KSM is arguably simply a criminal, by any standard. However, those members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban who were captured on the battlefield are arguably POWs.

Those poor souls who were rounded up by the Northern Alliance to settle tribal grudges or obtain bounties are, of course, largely innocent and should have been released years ago.

Mr. Knapp is of course right

Can't argue with that. But you can call me Alex. :)