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It has to be ironic to many people, when President Bush and Amnesty International is colliding heads on regarding the prisoner’s hold-up in Guantanamo Bay. Both have the same ambition to spread freedom across the oppressed world. President Bush has consistently rallied around the world to spread freedom across oppressive states. Amnesty International has been working tirelessly to petition and persuade oppressive governments to release political prisoners and to give more human rights to the oppressed citizens. Then why are the two great bodies of freedom fighters criticizing each other’s work? The conflict of interest on terrorist treatment is the issue they are diverging.

After September 11 attacks, President Bush and his cabinet team setup a detention center at Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Because the location is outside of any U.S. state, the Bush administration did not have to worry about any state government jurisdiction over the detention center. Because it is located on a military base, media and other organization exposure on the site can be limited severely. Although gathering all the possible terrorist prisoners into an isolated and controlled area might give potential benefits, the administration risks of having public controversy over the practices done in the detention center.

President Bush believes all terrorists should be treated differently under the law due to their intent of destroying freedom and the infrastructure of the free world. Amnesty International believes all human being have undeniable basic rights, and even on extenuating circumstances, those rights cannot be denied to them. Although ideologically and realistically extreme, Amnesty International is correct that no human should be denied of their right, regardless of their status of a terrorist or not.

President Bush can argue that September 11 have marked an era of change on how America should deal with future terrorist threats. The potential terrorists must be brought to severe interrogation to extract possible useful information to prevent another future terrorist attack. Granted, our security should be the focus when fighting against terrorism, but when we look back at history, the American people should start questioning if this practice is the moral way to protect Americans. The German alienation during World War 1, and the Japanese forced isolation during World War 2 have taught Americans that denying human rights based on affiliation to the enemy of the state was a moral mistake. Although we are facing another set of realities in the war against terror, history is repeating itself, and we have the opportunity to avoid the consequences made in the past.

President Bush made strong remarks against Amnesty International’s report on Guantanamo detention center, but Amnesty International’s charges are valid. President Bush is discrediting the organization to protect himself from political embarrassment. The political ambition of President Bush is hindering the full due process of law that these terrorist detainees are entitled to. At the end, the government will find the terrorists and protect Americans from future terrorist attacks, but will the American people be proud with the unethical process the government used to protect freedom?