permanent detention – the american approach
the pentagon doesn’t like being in the prison business – and the cia… well, that’s a different story, and a whole different level.
but, both the pentagon and the cia want to get out of the business, and they’ve apparently asked the administration to get them off the hook and come up with a final answer for people we’ve picked up around the globe, but don’t feel going through any unseemly judicial processes.
Long-Term Plan Sought For Terror Suspects [washington post, jan 2, 2005 – registration]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.
now, of course, the real question is what plan the administration cooks up.
i suppose it’s entirely possible that the bush administration will step up to the america they are trying so hard to defend and show us that it’s still a vibrant, functional, constitutionally-grounded country.