Last time I looked, if it's a war and you find an enemy on the battlefield, you kill him. That's pretty much the definition of what war is. You detain those who choose to surrender. Opting in the first instance to detain and interrogate someone, on the other hand, is what you're doing if you're running a criminal investigation. Oops.
Isn't it about time we forgot about this false dichotomy? The opposite of war is peace, not law enforcement. The opposite of law enforcement is crime, not war. There are even hybrid categories, like "war crime" and "illegal war" that would be especially appropriate in this instance.
In the struggle against al-Qa'ida there is a place for war and a place for law enforcement. There is even a place to combine them. War crimes should be prosecuted on both sides impartially. If you want to detain someone indefinitely just declare them a PoW. If you want to convict someone and put them in prison, get the evidence and bring them to court. If you want to try them in a military tribunal, declare them a war criminal. In this case we have a choice.
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