In the Shadow of Concentration Camps

As reported today in the New York Times, The Bushies are not wanting to release any SUSPECTED terrorists into the future.

Administration officials are preparing long-range plans for indefinitely imprisoning suspected terrorists whom they do not want to set free or turn over to courts in the United States or other countries, according to intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials.

Gee, I wonder why we would not want to try a suspect in court to determine whether or not they committed a crime? There are counts like conspiracy if someone is involved in an effort to coordinate a criminal enterprise... like terrorism. But, of course, we must all remember that suspicion in the Bush era equals guilt. I wonder if we need to educate them about words, meaning, and action?

The Pentagon and the CIA have asked the White House to decide on a more permanent approach for potentially lifetime detentions, including for hundreds of people now in military and CIA custody whom the government does not have enough evidence to charge in courts. The outcome of the review, which also involves the State Department, would also affect those expected to be captured in the course of future counterterrorism operations.

So, let me see. We are going to let people know that if they get captured we will incarcerate them for life? I wonder what that will do for motivation or far more importantly what that will do to our image abroad? America the Prison Nation!

"We've been operating in the moment because that's what has been required," said a senior administration official involved in the discussions, who said the current detention system has strained relations between the United States and other countries. "Now we can take a breath. We have the ability and need to look at long-term solutions."

So, I wonder what kind of long term solutions they are considering? Life imprisonment for suspected terrorist activity? Life imprisonment for criticism of Bush? After all, hasn't the nut-wing worked really hard to equate criticism of Bush and his horrible policies with anti-American crimes?

How this will be looked overseas is far more critical. Locking people away because we think that they might be terrorists -- and I acknowledge that there might be some terrorists who are behing held -- but we need to know for sure and this is not the way to do that! Is that what we want to be known for? Would that not be similar to constructing concentration camps?

As part of a solution, the Defense Department, which holds 500 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, plans to ask Congress for $25 million to build a 200-bed prison to hold detainees who are unlikely to ever go through a military tribunal for lack of evidence, according to defense officials.

So let's make sure I have this right... the Bush administration cannot try you in a court, even a MILITARY COURT, so we will hold SUSPECTED terrorists (do we need to explain the word 'suspected?' It means we do not know for sure)in perpetual prison! Democracy indeed.

Wow, where do they go from here?