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by Phil Hill

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In the free world, we are quick to point the finger at regimes who systematically abuse their citizens' human rights. Yet, the most powerful nation on Earth has plucked a batch of people it deems to be undesirable terrorists from elsewhere in the world and incarcerated them in harsh conditions. Furthermore, access to Guantanamo Bay is hugely restricted. All this is in the name of the fight against terrorism. US President George Bush defends the policy, telling the world that the detainees are evil men who have foregone their rights. While most of the World would condemn the cowardly, evil actions of the fundamentalist terrorists, we have to be careful not to fall into the trap of lowering our high standards as we seek to destroy them. There is widespread shock at what is happening at Guantanamo Bay, which is, ironically, situated on the island of Cuba, home to some of the worst human rights abuses on Earth.

One of the greatest rights of anybody in the free world is that you are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt. The US policy seems to be that the prisoners are terrorists and as such do not have any rights. As such, the prisoners are being held indefinitely without charge, without trial and with no idea how long they are likely to be kept there. If they are terrorists and it can be proved, then they deserve a long sentence to fit that crime. But what if some of the men held are in fact innocent? How can that be called justice?
America is viewed as having gone in heavy handed in response to what happened on 9/11. The US and the World were rightly outraged and it is understandable that we should go after those responsible. But there is such a thing as international law. If the only superpower expects the rest of the World to follow the rules, it cannot then rip up the rule book when it suit its own interests. America's line that the prisoners of Guantanamo are enemy combatants does not convince anyone.
The way terrorist groups across the world treat anyone deemed to be an infidel is reprehensible in the extreme. We should root out these evil doers and they should receive appropriate punishment. But we should not go down their lawless route. We are fighting for our way of life. President Bush is always telling us that we must defend our beloved freedom at all costs. Yes, these are dangerous times. But we have to apply the same levels of justice and morals to terrorists as we do to our own citizens and the rest of the world. America needs to set an example. It is wrong to point to rogue states and compare Guantanamo Bay favorably to the horrors in their prisons. America should be above that. It has to convince the rest of the world that our ways are right. That cannot be done by resorting to the terrorists' level. We cannot say to the rest of the world, 'Do as we say, not as we do'.

Learn more about this author, Phil Hill.

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