The criticisms of the left and many libertarians towards the system of detentions are understandable (U.S. history has examples of serious abuse of such methods), but I think in the end fundamentally non-responsive towards the unique practical problems of trying to mix a military and civilian approach to the problem of terrorism. We can’t just let people go, yet that seems exactly the alternative that the critics don’t want to talk about while screaming bloody murder about anything the government actually does try to do.

The bottom line is that the conflict against al-Qaeda falls into an intermediate zone between what was foreseen by international human rights treaties, domestic criminal law, and military operating procedures. While bloggers enjoy the luxury of operating in a world where their purist theories can be indulged without consequence, government officials have to deal with the ambiguities of real threats and unclear options. Unlike many of those on the other side, I have no impulse to demonize those that I am disagreeing with, but I do think they need to be called out on the fundamental dishonesty of their approach to the issue.