Moral superiority

As our leaders continue to herald our moral and social superiority over that of our enemies in their "war on terror." it's unbelievably disturbing to note the recent words of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee. From the AFP:

"We can detain any combatants for the duration of the hostilities," said Gonzales...

"If we choose to try them, that's great. If we don't choose to try them, we can continue to hold them."

What? For "the duration of the hostilities"?! But, allegedly, these are "hostilities" with no end in sight. So the way I read it, the top law enforcement officer in the United States of America stood before members of the American Congress, proudly and matter-of-factly supporting a policy of life imprisonment without expectation of trial, let alone charges being filed. Ever. Depending on the whim of the White House.

These are the people we've allowed to take control of our nation?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that attitude toward the inmates of Guantanamo Bay is what we were taught, as children, that was so utterly reprehensible about the Soviet Union and its Gulag Archipelago. About Communist China. About South Africa. About North Korea. About the repressive dictatorships that peppered South America and the African continent.

And here I thought that, even in times of "war," America was better than that.

In addition:

Gonzales has proposed [that] to prevent terrorists from having access to confidential information, judges handling the cases must be able to temporarily exclude defendants from their own trial if deemed necessary for national security...

The Washington Post, quoting anonymous Bush administration officials, reported Wednesday that the White House also hopes to allow the secretary of defense to add crimes at will to the military court's jurisdiction.

"Add crimes at will"? "Exclude defendants from their own trial"?! Did you ever think these would be official, government-sanctioned policies of the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave?

And all because of a collectively disproportionate fear of something far less likely to kill or injure us than driving to the mall.

Time to grow up, America. Time to make it clear just which side of the line you're standin' on. Because anyone still in the Administration's camp is simply an opponent of the very things "America" is supposed to represent.

Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like an "enemy combatant" to me...