Defense Attorneys Are Patriotic Too.

Here are my thoughts on this poorly written article by Bush-era speechwriter Marc Thiessen that somehow got into the Washington Post. The article is about recent criticism of defense attorneys who have represented Guantanomo detainees as being unpatriotic and "weak" on terror.

"Should a lawyer who advocates setting terrorists free, knowing they may go on to kill Americans, have any role in setting U.S. detention policy? My hunch is that most Americans would say no."

Your hunch, like the rest of your article, is flawed. Who says they are terrorists? They haven't been charged with terrorism or any other crime. They may go out and kill people or they may go sip tea; only God knows. I'm an American who says yes they should either be released, have charges brought against them or be held as prisoners of war.

Holding people indefinitely without due process of law stands against the principles that this country was founded upon and defense attorneys who stand up for fair and lawful treatment of people accused of a crime, whether by actual charges or by indefinite detention, should be applauded not scolded as unpatriotic.