Good, and long overdue too.

Nobody is suggesting these detainees are innocent (or guilty) of an offence. But offences only apply where laws have been broken, and penalties for those are determined by the courts, not the executive branch.

We are also saying that to be arrested, then to face a court of any kind, means there must be charges. Charges have to be laid out, not secreted away, otherwise there is no justice in what is being done.

And justice, as well as the means to defend one's name through legal representation, is the right of all. A right not because they are American, or British, or Australian, but simply because they are people.

Whether we like the detainees or not, whether we beleive them innocent or guilty, we have to respect those fundamental rules of justice and due process. Otherwise we are no better than the Taliban, or Hussain's Iraq.

Once we reach that point, what will we have left to fight for? What remains, which makes us better than those we call our enemies? Perhaps we are not so different to them, after all. Sad