What is worse? Locking somebody up for years, without trial, while you try to find proof he is a terrorist? Or killing somebody whose name you don’t even know because his pattern of behaviour suggests to you that he is a terrorist? The first strategy, internment without trial at the Guantánamo Bay prison camp, was a signature policy of the George W. Bush administration. The use of drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists has become a trademark of the Obama administration. Yet while Guantánamo attracted worldwide condemnation, the use of drones is much less discussed.
以下两种做法哪种更糟？是把一个恐怖主义嫌犯不经审讯羁押数年、同时寻找他是恐怖分子的证据更糟？还是因为一个人的行为模式像恐怖分子、就将这个连名字都不知道的人杀害更糟？第一种做法是小布什(George W. Bush)政府的标志性政策，该政府曾在关塔那摩湾战俘营(Guantánamo Bay)关押了许多未经审讯的嫌疑犯。而使用无人机杀害恐怖主义嫌犯，已成为奥巴马(Obama)政府的标志性政策。然而，关塔那摩招致了全世界的谴责，无人机的使用却鲜有人提及。