Pentagon: It Is Easier To Convict People Without Rights

The Pentagon apparently does not follow the Golden Rule:

Dems to fight terror trial rules allowing hearsay

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon set rules Thursday for detainee trials that could allow terror suspects to be convicted and perhaps executed using hearsay testimony and coerced statements, setting up a new clash between President Bush and Congress.
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Democrats controlling Congress said they would hold hearings and revive legislation on the plan.
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The new regulations lack some protections used in civilian and military courtrooms, such as against coerced or hearsay evidence.

You can bet if some foreign entity tried an American with hearsay evidence or coerced testimony, our government would be against it.

This is America. We are supposed to be for fair trials.

This is why I hate what the Bush administration is doing to our country; little by little, they are destroying the good things that America stands for. What good is their goal of protecting America if they end up destroying American honor, values, and ideals in the process?

Of course, the common argument is that these detainees are terrorists and therefore do not deserve rights. First of all, we have already released detainees because they were not terrorists. We probably tortured them and ruined their lives, but at least we still have our honor, right? Wrong. Second, as I have said before, we gave rights to Nazis during the Nuremberg Trials whether or not they deserved it. The point is not that certain people are not worthy of rights; the point is that innocent people are, and without those rights, how do you protect the innocent?

Additionally, this is America, and our honor, our values, and our ideals depend on our adherence to the law and these rights. Anything less than that is simply un-American.