“I want justice. And there’s an old poster out West, I recall, that said, `Wanted, Dead or Alive.’ I think this is a long-term battle – war,” President Bush said Monday in his address to the nation.

This statement is a poor choice of words at a volatile time. Rash statements like this have the potential to hamper the negotiation process and can eliminate hope of resolving the conflict in a more restrained and calm manner.

According to the President’s address Monday, the United States made an analogy to the “Wild West” days of U.S. history in which vigilante law and revenge ruled the land. If a citizen was suspected of a crime, signs would be posted for the person’s head, breathing or not.

Today, if someone breaks the law in the United States the person is apprehended and put on trial in by a jury of their peers. The police no longer issue statements asking for the apprehension of suspected criminals, “dead or alive.”

The suspects in the attacks on the East Coast last week should be given the same rights as any one suspected of a crime in the United States, a just trial. Doing so would only show that the United States as a nation has risen above expectations and shown the world that justice and respect for international and humanitarian law is paramount.

The fact is, we don’t have all of the evidence yet. It is still too early in the investigation to know who comitted this cruel act of terrorism, and even if we did know who perpetrated the act, the rules should still apply.

Human Rights Watch, a leading human rights organization based in the United States, said of President Bush’s statements that there will be no distinctions made between the terrorists and those who harbored them, “that disctinctions must be made between the guilty and the innocent; between the perpetrators and the civilians who may surround them; between those who commit atrocities and those who may simply share their religious beliefs, ethnicity or national origin.”

People committed to justice and law and human rights must never descend to the level of the perpetrators of such acts. That is the most important distinction of all.”

In addition, the President’s remarks included the statement: “No rules apply.”

This comment implies that U.S. policy is above international law and Geneva Conventions. Mr. Bush seemed to say that because the terrorists’ actions were “barbaric,” the U.S. has carte blanche to do as it wishes in our retaliation.

President Bush’s statements this week have contributed to an environment of vengeance and lack of restraint.

If we are to truly achieve justice while maintaining security for our nation, we must lead by example by bringing those suspected to stand trial and give the utmost respect to international law.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Zach Calef, Omar Tesdell