WWJD at Guantanamo?

Continuing on the subject of the prisoners at Guantanamo, I have been reflecting recently on Christian ideals and how they should apply to the treatment of prisoners of the "Global War on Terror". There are many people in the United States who believe that terror suspects should be treated harshly, interrogated forcefully, and get "what's coming to them". My natural inclination is to view the situation in a similar manner. After all, many of these terrorists symbolize true evil: they choose civilian targets, they wish to kill as many civilians as possible, and they won't stop until the United States has either been destroyed or subjugated to their twisted interpretation of Islam. But my reflections have led me to consider that my attitudes may be wrong.

If you could torture a terrorist in order to gain information that would save a thousand lives, would it be morally justified? On the surface, it seems the answer would be easy. But from a Christian perspective, I fear that it would not. However twisted these psychopaths are, they are stlll God's creation. Jesus would have looked with compassion at these people. He said, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven." Terrorists are the modern day equivalents to the Zealots (the violent extremists) and tax collectors (the co-opted occupation supporters). And it's pretty clear that terrorists are the enemy of everyone in the United States. Is torturing a terrorist an act of love for your enemy? It may certainly be an act of love for those individuals who you may (theoretically) be able to save. But I certainly doubt that it will help bring the Kingdom here on Earth.

I wonder what someone like the late Mother Theresa would have done with the prisoners at Guantanamo. I suspect that she would have followed Matthew 25:36, and would have tended to the sick, clothed the naked, and visited the prisoners. And when presented with true Christian charity, is it not possible that God could have used her to change the hearts of these despicable men? Perhaps only a few would change. But is it not possible that we would have learned more information from these people than we would have from cruel and harsh methods? Perhaps we would have been able to save even more lives? And when discontented people in the Islamic world saw how we put our beliefs into practice, perhaps less of them would desire to attack the United States as the Great Satan.

Faith is about believing that God can do anything. Do people have faith that God can help us win the war against terror without us resorting to inhumane practices? Yes, we should imprison them to ensure that they can't harm innocent people. But we should remember that they are God's children, no matter how evil they have become. And we should treat them accordingly. And if the United States was a "Christian nation" (it isn't, but people like to spout that anyway), we as a nation would apply our beliefs even to our conduct in this conflict.