Problems of Aggression-Based Democracy (#34,672)

There are major issues that have yet to be resolved, though. The most glaring is the treatment of prisoners. Iraq and Afghanistan show the new face of war. Our enemies do not wear uniforms because the war would be over in a few months if they did. We are now treating captured enemy as possible criminals – entitled to Miranda rights, with our soldiers signing arrest sheets and bagging evidence for presentation to local judges who are corrupt. There’s no sure way of knowing who is innocent, who is a small-time offender and who is a major threat. In past wars, we kept prisoners of war until the war was over. The average jail sentence in Iraq for an enemy soldier has been 300 days. That is not a smart way to fight a war. This problem is festering. Guantanamo was simple in that the numbers – perhaps 200 – granted habeas corpus and the best pro bono lawyers from Ivy League law schools are manageable. But consider – in Iraq and Afghanistan the US holds about 5,000 extremely dangerous jihadists that cannot be turned over to local judges because they might be let go. As the combat increases in Afghanistan, so will the number of prisoners. We have not as a nation – the Executive Branch, the military, the Supreme Court and the Congress – reached agreement and codified how we fight when the enemy does not wear a uniform.

(( Neocomrade General B. West ))