HENTOFF: The Hamdan verdict

I am beginning to think that the Clinton approach was best (believe me when I say I biting my lip as I say this). Now I say treat the terrorist as criminals and put them on trial in the established US Military/Courts systems. It may be harder, we may get fewer convictions, but but it would have been a lot faster and we will be treating them as the thugs they are. By treating the terrorist as part of a military or paramilitary organization deserving of a "special" process, rather than a criminal organization, we give them credit than they deserve.

I think FDR would have interned Hentoff too. FDR would probably have just hung Hamdan. But he would have done so in a week or two making Hentoff a bit happier for swift justice, FDR style.

Sorry Nat, I strongly disagree. Un-uniformed fighters belonging to no organized military force fighting on behalf of no nation are not signatories of the Geneva Conventions, are not entitled to Geneva Convention Rules or protection under a US Constitution. It is not the United States who put these murderers in this position in which these jihadists fined themselves. Their predicament is of their own doing and of their own choice. They are men without countries, who adhere to no rule of law in the execution of their hatred and vile murder of innocent children women and men. If these terrorists wanted to be treated as citizens of the 21st century, they could have chosen to promote political change within their our countries but instead they chose to slaughter innocent people as their means to their ends. There decision had a horrible price and rightly so. As we have seen by those who have been released only to end up being captured on the battle field again following their release or who were killed on the battlefield following their release, there is no rehabilitation for these individuals. For me, I only regret that we offered these men quarter when none was deserving and they certainly do not at this time deserve the same rights as I as an American citizen. The fact that these terrorists get any hearing in a justice system at all is more than they would offer any innocent life themselves. I have no problem with how these vile trash are treated. If these were uniformed troops of a foreign nation doing their duty, I would feel much differently but such is not the case. If our black ops CIA un-uniformed fighters are captured on foreign soil in a battle, they will not be afforded quarter or fair trial before getting shot or beheaded as the Geneva convention specifically excluded such un-uniformed fighters from any protections. The US has already offered more to these terrorists than any nation would offer or ever has offered to American fighting men. Treating the Germans, Japanese, North Koreans and Vietnamese POWs humanely and fairly did not secure the humane treatment of our men in their POW camps. We have all witnessed via the internet just how these terrorists treat those they capture.