by James McGraw

Created on: June 30, 2007

There is a certain difficulty in comprehending why someone would extend the "Writ of Habius Corpus" to a group of individuals who have launched a war such as no other that the world has witnessed!

Traditionally, in a conventional war, nation states indulge in the taking of prisoners with the understanding that repatriation will be arrived at with the conclusion of hostilities. In this world climate of asymmetrical warfare, all agreements, civilities of warfare, and general understandings governing the conduct of war are nonexistent. The enemy is not a nation state that understands the legal ramifications of misdeeds, or who has negotiated reasoned positions or who has abided by the covenants of international convention on the conduct of hostilities.

To underscore the validity of this point, where are the coalition prisoners of war? Has the Red Crescent visited prisoner of war compounds to check on the well being of captured coalition forces and to see that no mistreatment is at hand? Has a list been published that changes the status of active duty personnel to that of captured? Have the Jihadist been satisfied in their interrogations with simply "name, rank, and serial number"? Of course not! Simply put, they don't take prisoners, they take hostages, and the moment that these individuals loose their usefulness, they are simply disposed of and dropped into the nearest river!

Suggesting that America and her coalition partners are somehow deficient in morals on the issue of prisoner detention considering both the historical precedence of warfare and the current circumstances of this particular war is indeed difficult to comprehend.

The mere existence of prisoners in our possession weights the moral equivalency debate into the coalitions favor!

To elevate the acts of terrorism into the realm of a form of warfare through legal standards is in itself criminal. The laws of any state, religion, or society have always recognized the acts perpetrated by these individuals as the acts of brutality and of anarchy. By utilizing the shroud of an established religion to perpetuate the ability to proceed in their murderous ways, they only further their criminality.

By keeping these individuals detained with or without charges we violate no law. Keep in mind that we have attempted to return these individuals to their country of origin only to have those nations refuse to accept these individuals. Once the war is concluded, than the proper commissions can formulate the appropriate actions. These should be military commissions that have the experience of history and the recognized force of international law at their side. Till then, they are simply Prisoners of War awaiting the end of the conflict that they perpetuated.

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