My vision of Hell is being falsely accused of a serious crime and being offered a plea bargain to a lesser offense.

It's easy to insist, in armchair-quarterback fashion, that you would never, ever, accept a plea for a crime you didn't comm......

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. :)

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.

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 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.

David Hicks, the Australian citizen being held as an unlawful combatant in Guantanamo Bay, confessed and guilty to the charge of supporting a terrorist organization. Alex Knapp wonders if anyone will believe him. (Outside the Beltway)......

Australian terror suspect David Hicks pleaded guilty to a war-crime charge of providing material sup...