Permanent Detainee Detention

Camp Delta (Gitmo): Camp 4 - Where Most Detainees Are

[WashPo photo gallery here]

Update (January 4, 2011): This update from Talking Points Memo (here). The basic question remains: What if our Vietnam War POW's were still held in NVN? After all, the North's leadership labeled that war "unlawful and illegal as they called our POW's war criminals." What's the difference today?

Original Post: This story comes from the Washington Post [click here], in part, which states: "The Obama administration is preparing an executive order that would formalize indefinite detention without trial for some detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but allow those detainees and their lawyers to challenge the basis for continued incarceration, U.S. officials said." Emotions run high about this issues, and rightly so.

As a former Marine Corps Interrogator and intelligence officer, allow me to express this view: What if North Vietnam or Korea or any other country for that matter, were still holding U.S. POW's or detainees for any length of time right up until today, where would this country stand on that issue? Let's ask John McCain shall we. In the meantime, let's get real about this issue.

Prolonged detention vs. Permanent (permanent means forever, right?) detention vs. Mr. Obama's view about holding them without a trial indefinitely (no specific time period - maybe forever, maybe not).

Wow! Is there a difference between any of those views and definitions? Some compare it to locking them up like regular criminals. Okay, that's fine, but let's try them first, convict them, and them make them permanent or prolonged criminals, and then lock them up for life or whatever term the court says.

In the meantime, let's keep away from the, "Bring the guilty bastards in, give them a fair trial, and then hang 'em" attitude, okay? Or, as I said above, what if our POW's were still in North Vietnam; let's ask John McCain and a few other former POW's. North Vietnam always thought the war with them was illegal and that our POW's were "war criminals."

I guess we didn't think so back, but we think so today? I see, I see, so 9-11 really did change everything, even our view of law and justice, and right and wrong.