The problem with treating terrorists as criminals

I am saddened to report that a United States federal judge has sentenced an admitted member of Al-Qaida to a mere eight years in prison because of treatment that he received while in a Navy brig.  According to the AP U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm stated, "I believe based on everything that I have heard that you truly do not regret what you did and that you would do it again after you go home," But in a stinging critique of government interrogation techniques that included threats to have al-Marri's family rounded up in Saudi Arabia, the judge also said he would reduce al-Marri's sentence "My personal belief as a judge is that that was totally unacceptable, That's not who we are."

While some of the tactics used against this man are absurd in the extreme it is no less absurd than treating someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to kill as many Americans as possible as a simple criminal.  These people don't give a tinker's damn whether or not we want to be friends with them or that we are going to take a live and let live attitude.  They want to kill us simply because we do not share the same religious beliefs.  They want to kill us because women can wear whatever attire they want to, because women are allowed not only to get education but because they are allowed to get higher education, because people have free speech and the freedom of religion and the freedom to associate with whomever they wish.  

Until and unless Americans come to the realization that these people are not simply criminals, that they are enemy combatants, that since they are not wearing a uniform it would be entirely legal, by international treaty, for our military to execute them on the battlefield, we will continue to have to worry about further attacks on our nation.  Unfortunately it seems like the majority of the American public has no grasp of the situation that we have found ourselves in so the attacks will continue.  Our federal agents will have to continue their 100% interception rate because even a 1% error rate will put all of us in an astounding amount of danger.  As long as the powers that be continue to treat this as a criminal issue rather than the act(s) of war that it is the American public will not wake up.  Unfortunately that means that we will probably have to endure another attack before the giant reawakens.