>What about: Innocent until proven guilty ?
>
>Tell that to the families of the thousands killed from the 9/11 attacks.
>Tell that to the familes of those killed/injured during the World Trade Center bombing
>Tell that to the families of those killed on Pan Am Flight 103
>Tell that to the families of the 240+ Marines killed in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing
>
>And lastly, tell that to the families of the 2 soldiers shot in Arkansas by Abdulhakim Muhammad.
>
>
>We have declared a war on Islamic terrorists and other extreme religious groups that have killed innocent citizens. War is ugly. War is not pretty. It's supposed to be ugly - that's why they call it "war".

Of course war is ugly. But there are rules under which civilized nations conduct it. These rules, prominently the Geneva Conventions, have been in place for a long time. It is shameful that we are the country, supposedly an inspiration to the world, who decided we wouldn't bother with them any more. Equally shameful is discarding the basic principle of innocent until guilty.

I have little doubt a lot of the prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere are indeed terrorists who mean us harm. So let's try them already. What we should not do is lower ourselves to their level.