Yes, anyone who willing take another’s life or several lives loses their right to life. That’s the way I look at it. Eye for an eye. That’s also the reasoning behind the death penalty.

Most similar to doesn’t cut it, Mike. They do not fit the definition. That’s like saying a plantain is the fruit most similar to bananas, so we should call them bananas.

Due process only applies to Americans or those arrested for crimes done in America in America.

Unconvicted isn’t true. He was pulled out the military tribunal system after he agreed to plead guilty. If he had pleaded guilty, the only thing left to do is sentencing. He admitted his guilt. No need for conviction. He admitted it already.

The military tribunal system was set up to expedite trials for people who commit terrorist acts and admit to them. And, because they are arrested on a foreign battlefield, they are not entitled to a civilian trial.

If they admit guilt, why give them a trial? Sentencing is all that matters.

Dude, you’re basing that on nothing. These are terrorists who admit to the acts in question. The only thing remaining is sentencing. But give them a civilian trial in the United States, they will obviously get the sleaziest lawyer possible and plead not guilty. They will then spout propaganda, threaten the jurors, etc.

There is no precedent here. Obama is giving other terrorists at Gitmo a military tribunal. Why are military tribunals good for some terrorists, but not the worst of the bunch? Explain this to me.

There is no such thing as “deserving of death.” Nobody “deserves” death, especially with the right to Life among the forefront of our unalienable rights. It is not our responsibility to determine who should live and die; we have criminal courts for just such a reason.

Maybe it is the UN’s job of creating multilateral agreements on classifying enemy combatants. But in our current system, they are most similar to prisoners of war; as such, they should be treated with respect and dignity appropriate to the situation. If an international treaty changed this classification, then I would approve of following it. However, in today’s world, we should maintain due process where possible.

Please cite Obama’s AG wanting to extend Miranda to captured personnel.

Is that what the victims want, or is that what you want? I take great offense to you likening the execution of an unconvicted person to a boxing match; a sport we indulge in on pay per view on Saturday nights.

Closure can be had through a public trial; the same means closure can be had for other people and other crimes. Just because of the differing nature of their crime does not mean that we need to erode our sense of common justice simply to expedite an execution.

Military Tribunals work insofar as to expedite executions; if justice is your goal, their effectiveness is far more dubious.

Fundamentally, you seek to erode the common decency and rule of law that has stood in these United States for over 220 years in the interest of saving money and time in executing a criminal. I find the mere notion of stripping rights away from anyone, regardless of circumstance to be a travesty.

In reading your link, it’s not always about trying to impress people. It’s about the degradation of society that would occur by fully utilizing military tribunals over civilian courts and the violation of our nation’s founding principles.

http://townhall.com/columnists/MichaelBarone/2010/02/01/obama_impresses_educated_class_but_not_terrorists

He deserves to die. Why have a civilian trial that will cost over a $1 billion to reach the same result a military tribunal would have?

I was talking about Europe and Russia, but whatever.

Then, get the UN to pass something. The problem is that these detainees are a new kind of enemy. They are not POWs. That’s why we created a military tribunal system. Obama wants to implement Miranda Rights on the battlefield, at least his AG does.

Not a service at all. I don’t think they’d like it that they gave their lives just so the bastard who planned the attack that killed them could be brought within spitting distance of the damage the attack caused. I think they’d rather he were executed on live television after a military tribunal. Hey, make the government some money and put it on pay-per-view.

Closure can be had through a military tribunal. They want him dead. They don’t care how it happens. Everybody with sense wants him dead. Does it really matter how?

Military tribunals work. What’s your problem with them?

The Geneva Convention may define what a Prisoner of War is, but we have no definitions for “man caught in cave” or any of the other Guantanamo Detainees. Until someone seeks to give them explicit rights, it is unfathomable that we can hold them with no rights.

The Standard of Justice is exactly my point! Guantanamo prisoners need to be treated fairly and uniformly, regardless of circumstance, and that is not happening.

I would rather spend my tax dollars on putting someone to death in a fair manner than spend my tax dollars on a puppet regime’s death squads.

The parts of the world that hate us are generally parts of the world that we have meddled in far too often; interfering in the affairs of the Middle East has always been a folly, and as a Government we have made that mistake time and time again. However, the United States still has an obligation to make amends where possible, and treating our enemies with respect and compassion is a way to win over populations.

Again, Due Process may be a Western concept, but we should follow our laws when no others supercede them. If Guantanamo Prisoners had rights established, it would be different. However, Due Process exists in ” order for judges instead of legislators to define and guarantee fundamental fairness, justice, and liberty. ” Miranda is an entirely different concept, a concept that cannot be easily implemented in theaters of war.

While Mr. Obama may think the result is a bygone conclusion, in reality the criminal justice system exists as a means to establish fact; an establishment necessary for true justice to occur.

It’s hardly a waste of time and money; it’s a service to all of the heroes who were killed on September 11th, and a means of providing closure to their families and friends.