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As a nation, we guarantee certain inalienable rights to our citizens, like innocence until guilt is proven, and the right to a trial by a jury of our peers. These rights are constitutionally guaranteed to Legal American Citizens. These rights do not apply to enemy combatants. Nowhere in our constitution do we offer our civil rights to enemy combatants. Whether an enemy combatant is captured on U.S. soil, or captured in an overseas conflict zone, your rights are very different from those of an American citizen.

The United States signed a group of treaties commonly referred to as the "Geneva Convention", actually a group of four treaties with three additional protocols, which governs the rules by which we go to war. Prisoners of war are offered certain specific protections, provided they fall under the classification of "Lawful Combatants". These "Lawful Combatants" must be either uniformed or clearly marked, carrying arms openly in occupied territories, or if in an unoccupied territory having spontaneously taken up arms, not uniformed but organized under clear leadership with arms borne openly.

Prisoners of war can be held for longer terms, without trial or legal representation. Sometimes these prisoners are held outside the U.S. borders in allied nations. Typically, prisoners of war are used as a bargaining chip in diplomatic negotiations with enemy leadership, sometimes traded for other prisoners.

Terror suspects provide an interesting legal wrinkle to these of guidelines. An American citizen charged with an act of terror is afforded rights like a trial by jury, but under federal law may be hanged if found guilty. Terror suspects who have infiltrated the U.S. are not American citizens, and as unlawful combatants may not be afforded the rights of a legal combatant prisoner of war. In this war against terror groups, we face a group that has neither agreed to nor practices the Geneva conventions with regard to prisoner treatment. Our legal obligation to these prisoners extends only so far as we wish it to. Our treatment of them and the length of their interment is at the discretion of our governing parties; the executive branch of the presidency, under guidelines put forth by the house and senate. In other words, it's up to us.

In summation, if our leaders are able to capture foreign combatants who are hiding in our cities, we can treat them like prisoners of war. Thus, we remove them from the battlefield until such time as we reach a peaceable agreement with their leadership, or agree to trade them for our own citizens. If the terror suspects actually are American Citizens, they should be afforded a trial by jury, but can also be charged with treason and hanged. As a representative democracy, we are ultimately responsible for what we allow our leaders to do, and whether we allow them to protect us. Cast your ballot wisely.

* For more information on the Geneva Conventions, including a link to the full text, visit http://www.genevaconventions.o rg/

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