Justice and Human Rights are in the news a lot recently. One of the other bloggers I follow (Will Wheaton dot Net) recently posted his opposition to the appointment of the new US Attorney General because of his involvement in legitimising torture of terror suspects. There is also a lot of disquiet in the UK at the moment as the Home Office attempts to develop legislation which will allow people to be held indefinitely without trial, without knowing the evidence against them and having limited ability to appeal their detention.
The right to a fair trial in a timely fashion is one of the cornerstones of our society. Taking that away – for any reason – is undermining the very freedom that we claim to be protecting in the fight against terrorism. I don’t want to live in a de facto police state.
It seems that the so called 'War on Terror' is turning us into exactly what the terrorists claim we are: oppressors. Surely it's time for a serious rethink of the philosophy here? War is a tool you use against nation states who are prepared to put an army in the field against you - an army that you can see. Terrorism is not a nation and terrorists are not an army that you can send troops against. It's a whole different paradigm. To beat terrorists, you have to undermine or disprove the beliefs that make them turn to terror, not lock people up and throw away the key.
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