Over at Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen highlighted a scary headline in today’s NYT. It reads: U.S. War Prisons Legal Vacuum for 14,000

Says a one-time detainee, now freed, “I will hate Americans for the rest of my life.” Can’t say I blame him for the sentiment. The official position is nothing short of doublespeak:

“Seventy to 90 percent of the Iraq detentions in 2003 were ”mistakes,” U.S. officers once told the international Red Cross.”

…

“Every U.S. detainee in Iraq ”is detained because he poses a security threat to the government of Iraq, the people of Iraq or coalition forces,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Keir-Kevin Curry, a spokesman for U.S.-led military detainee operations in Iraq.”

Every detainee. Except the 70-90% who have been detained in error.

But, you know, if you’re not really a terrorist, you don’t have anything to hide.