Why don't we just charge them and give them trials??

"Blake Wallace wrote:I have a novel concept! Let's charge them with a crime, then give them a trial!Damn, why didn't our founding fathers think of that!"

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This comes from my previous thread "Where to put Gitmo Detainees"because it is a broad topic... (feel free to reply here or to that thread)***************************************************

My reply:

Our founding fathers never had to deal with the modern concept or practice of terrorism. Most law covers only "domestic" crime. There were no such things as "international crimes", "crimes against humanity"...or "international terrorism".

The few internationally accepted legal principles mostly involved what has been called "the Laws of the Sea". Since all European countries recognized legal differences between naval "warfare", "privateering", and "piracy".

Those few laws were of course never subject to a body such as "The World Court"...and the laws regarding the handling and punishment of "Piracy" which is their contemporary equivalent of modern "terrorism" was brutal, far more brutal than anything we have in the modern world.

Why don't we just "charge them with a crime, then give them a trial"? Simple...the conventional law doesn't generally apply. The closest things we have to internationally accepted legal standards..."The Geneva Conventions" don't particularly apply to terrorism either. The nations of the world, are arguing about whether the people who are not recognized by international law and standards as "armed combatants"...and since there is no unanimity on the subject...the current answer is NO...they do not meet the standard or are they entitled to the protections offered by the "Geneva Conventions". These are not soldiers...

Since they aren't covered by most nations "domestic" laws...and aren't recognized by international laws and conventions as "armed combatants"...they are subject to the treatment of the nation who holds them sees fit. If the world wants clarity, and an internationally acceptable way to deal with these people and their crimes...the practical thing to do, would be to convene, agree upon, then adopt a new "International Convention for the Treatment and Handling of Terrorists and Irregular-Combatants".

This is something that of course doesn't exist...but should...to finally fill the void.