Over 200 years ago Thomas Jefferson said, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…

Dennis Miller and James Carville, ordinarily considered to be strong civil libertarians, seem to be having second thoughts when it comes to the” terrorists". Following a recent rant on the subject Dennis Miller made it clear that he didn't believe “terrorists” had the same rights as others and frankly didn't give a fuck if their civil rights were violated or even that they had any rights. James Carville on a recent Crossfire was trying to find a level of torture he would be comfortable with. He was okay with sleep deprivation and other psychological torture and seemed ready to consider other measures when the program ended.
The question on my mind is simple. Why shouldn’t we grant the same legal rights to any person that we grant Americans. I've heard some answers:
They are terrorists, Duh!
They aren't citizens and therefore don't agree to follow the laws of our country and so they shouldn't be protected by those same laws.
We are at war. Everything has changed nothing is the same.
They may know something that could save American lives.

They are “terrorists”, but so was Timothy McVeigh, and most agreed that he should be afforded his rights.
They aren't citizens, and so haven't agreed to follow our laws. Of course no natural born citizen ever explicitly agrees to obey our laws. Should they have their rights taken away?
They may know something that could save American lives. I’m sure there are plenty extremists in this country plotting terrible deeds. Do we just haul them in ignore their rights and torture them.
Does anyone believe individual members of the Taliban or Al Qaeda being held in Cuba are any worse than a Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Timothy McVeigh, or an extremist living in Northern Idaho plotting a “terrorist” act?

So what it all boils down to is that some would determine rights simply as an accident of the person’s birth, and for me that is just not good enough.
The foundation of our legal system is sound. We separate the functions of justice. The person who arrests or soldier who captures the accused doesn't pass judgment. A prosecutor makes the case against the accused, and the accused has a defense. The final determination is left for the courts. Some cases indeed seem obvious and it is tempting to forgo the judgment phase and move directly to the punishment. But therein lies the rub. What is obvious to one person is not at all obvious to another. That is why our sense of fair play requires that we follow the same procedure regardless of our initial perceptions.
In the eighteenth century we labeled women “witches” and in the fifties it was “communist”, labels used to dehumanize and make it easier to forgo the rule of law. Let us not allow the term “terrorist” to be used in a similar way. It’s time to treat all men equally.