Treat Terrorists Like Enemy Combatants, Not Criminals
Topics: Politics, U.S., World
Public Release Date: September 14, 2010
In 2009 the Justice Department announced that 9/11 plotter Khalid Shaikh Mohammed would be tried in New York City, setting off a firestorm of protests. Besides the cost and safety concerns, at issue are whether terrorists should be tried in criminal court or whether national security requires the use of military commissions. Likewise, issues like the closing of Guantanamo, the reading of Miranda rights, and enhanced interrogation all center on the same question: How should the U.S. treat captured alleged terrorists? In a war with no foreseeable end, whose actors are neither criminals nor soldiers, can we keep America safe and still bring terrorists to justice?
ARGUING YES:
Michael Hayden: Former Director of the CIA and NSA
Marc Thiessen: Former chief speechwriter to President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
ARGUING NO:
David Frakt: Professor at Barry University’s Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law
Stephen Jones: Managing Partner at the Law firm of Jones, Otjen, and Davis
MODERATOR-IN-CHIEF:
John Donvan: Emmy award-winning journalist