"So far away from home...."

Apparently it is now official: we are no longer a government of laws, but a government of men. Of old, white men, who want to make sure we are afraid, very afraid:

"The United States government, let alone the U.S. military, does not want to be in the position of holding suspected terrorists any longer than is absolutely necessary," Rumsfeld said. "But as long as there remains a need to keep terrorists from striking again, a facility will continue to be needed."

But wait, as the TV commercials say, there's more.

Sen. John McCain has said: "I think the key to this is to move the judicial process forward so that these individuals will be brought to trial for any crime that they are accused of rather than residing in Guantanamo facility in perpetuity." Secretary Rumsfeld's answer?

"The real problem is not Guantanamo Bay," Rumsfeld said. "The problem is that, to a large extent, we are in unexplored territory with this unconventional and complex struggle against extremism. Traditional doctrines covering criminals and military prisoners do not apply well enough."

"They're not common car thieves," Rumsfeld said of the Guantanamo prisoners. "They're believed to be determined killers."

So, of course, are serial killers. Who tend to be white males. No word on when we start rounding them up for the safety of American society. Or when we start locking up anyone who might be a pedophile. We have yet, of course, to declare a war on pedophilia, but that's just a technicality.

Attorney General Gonzalez apparently can't be bothered to comment on these legal matters.