Is anybody listening?

http://mobile.nytimes.com/art/138669/19

The times has one of the most dispiriting pieces I have read in some time about why we have no idea how to win the 'war on terror'. The short version is that in 2004 we picked up an afghan national hero beloved for his opposition to the taliban, charged him with aiding them, and shipped him to Guantanamo until his recent death from cancer.



The article gives a bunch of parties the chance to point fingers - we got Intel from an afghan governor, special forces picked up the wrong guy, we couldn't find the afghan minister of energy to testify on his behalf at his sham trial, etc.



Of course all that belies the basic point that the whole thing was possible because the US has decided being able to kidnap people from their country based on heresay then make them defend themselves - regardless if they can even read - is a good policy.



On a larger point, the guy IS A FREAKING NATIONAL HERO. The most ridiculous feature of US detention policy is that there are no rules governing how you put someone in but a bureaucratic labreynth keeping anyone from getting out.

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