United Liberty

Former President George W. Bush has resurfaced, being quoted from a Pennsylvania speech by the Washington Times:

“I’m not going to criticize my successor,” Bush was quoted as saying.

“I’ll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don’t believe that — persuasion isn’t going to work. Therapy isn’t going to cause terrorists to change their mind.”

This argument was made throughout the Bush years. Most critics, including myself, find it profoundly embarrassing and worrisome that terror suspects remain legally ambiguous. Bringing legal clarity to the bonanza created at Guantanamo is not providing “therapy.” There’s no reason why the like of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed should be rehabilitated into society (the very suggestion is absurd), but having him sentenced through the normal judicial process will not only make us look like the humane, free society that we are supposed to be, but will also protect against abuse. If the prisoners are as bad as Bush says they are, they’ll likely get at least life sentences.