Trying Terrorists

[stickmaker]

Terrorists are not soldiers. They are criminals. Trying them in a military court grants them a validity they do not have and do not deserve.

Comments

[donsimpson.livejournal.com]

I've heard it suggested that they be put in the same legal category as pirates. I don't know what legal status pirates have, though I gather there is a body of international law on the subject.

Treating terrorists as soldiers implies that we are at war with them, rather than acting as police. Giving terrorists the same rights as criminals would definitely be a step up.

There is an old saw about the difference betwen a terrorist and a freedom fighter being which side you are cheering for, but blowing up office buildings or school buses does not seem to me to be conducive to freedom.