War Versus Criminal Justice in Response to Terrorism: The Losing Logic of Torture

In his speech to the Reserve Officers Association, President Bush joined two ways of thinking about the response to terrorism. Most commonly the President refers to the War on Terror (nine references), but he also promised justice: the terrorists will be brought to justice (one reference).

I review here the ways in which these two responses to terrorism are in conflict, and suggest the advantages of greater emphasis on criminal justice against a threat that is expected to continue indefinitely. Since 9/11, success against terrorism has come from police work embedded in a rights-oriented criminal justice system; failure has come from attempts to use military force that is not subordinated to a political framing of the problem. Torture is part of this failure.