“President Bush has acknowledged the existence of secret CIA prisons,” stated BBC News on Sept. 7. Recently, 14 suspected terrorist leaders were transferred from CIA secret prisons around the world to the detention center at the United States naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh, alleged masterminds behind Sept. 11, are two of the criminals newly detained in Guantanamo Bay.

“Before (the terrorists) were transferred there they were all held in different prisons over seas and no one knew exactly where they were,” said senior Taylor Traversa.

According to the Washington Post, “(Bush) wants to try them before U.S. military panels under proposed new rules he simultaneously sent to Congress.”

These new rules for trial would include admission of hearsay evidence and evidence retrieved through coercion and duress. Defendants would also be denied access to pieces of evidence. There are American lawyers in Guantanamo Bay working towards the suspects being tried under due process.

In October 2005, Congress presented a new bill, the Interrogation Procedures Act, which states, “No individual in the custody or under the physical control of the United States Government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.” This bill is still in the first process of undergoing serious reviews.

Last year President Bush and John McCain signed the Detainee Treatment Act which states, “No person in the custody or under the effective control of the Department of Defense or under detention in a Department of Defense facility shall be subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by and listed in the United States Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation.”

According to the Washington Post, “(Bush) spoke on the same day that the Defense Department, under pressure from Congress and the Supreme Court, separately ruled out the military’s future use of interrogation methods that officials have said were practiced on the CIA’s detainees — including the use of temperature extremes and water boarding, which simulates drowning.”

However, many believe these terrorists are being held illegitimately. “That means they could imprison me just because they might have some suspicions about my intentions. That’s why it’s illegitimate. That’s why it’s unethical,” said first-year Bryce Bjornson. “If they want to interrogate them, they should do it in an humane way. Torture is not a humane solution.”

Similarly to the Vietnam conflict, the war against terrorism has caused quite the quarrel in society.

“Under Article 17 in the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war cannot be tortured or threatened while being held. But since the war against terrorism is not an officially declared war, the convention cannot be used,” stated Bjornson. “We can draw a parallel between the Vietnam conflict and the current war against terrorism since heinous crimes are being committed, and the Geneva Convention cannot be used since both conflicts are not official.”

It was suspected that these secret CIA prisons scattered around the world were places where criminals are held in secret to endure jagged interrogation methods.

The question is to what extent are these interrogation methods practiced? Is it a Hammurabi method, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, or is it physiological technique to force criminals into confession?

“I cannot describe the specific methods used,” said President Bush. “If I did, it would help the terrorists learn how to resist questioning and to keep information from us that we need to prevent new attacks on our country. But I can say the procedures were tough and they were safe and lawful and necessary.”

“I think that we are on shaky moral ground by trying to re-write the Geneva Conventions,” said Max Carter, Director of the Friends Center and Campus Ministry Coordinator. “I’ve seen what nationalistic arrogance can do in sapping the moral fiber of a people and I would hate to see the United States go down that road.”

“What is our penalty for not addressing the root causes of terrorism?” asked Carter. “Clearly, the penalty for our own complicity in others’ oppression, marginalization, and alienation is anger and violence directed against us.