Young Guns, by Rep. Paul Ryan, Rep. Eric Cantor & Rep. Kevin McCarthy: on Homeland Security

Eric Cantor: Gitmo deals with terrorists as a different kind of danger

From giving terrorist masterminds civilian trials in New York City to reading the Christmas 2009 "underwear bomber" his rights after 50 minutes of interrogation, the Democrats in charge in Washington have revealed a fundamental failure to understand the enemy we face. The mechanics of our civilian law enforcement system, with its defense attorneys and admirable openness, are designed fundamentally to respond to crimes; to react when a wrong has been committed. Terrorism represents a fundamentally different kinds of danger. We can't afford to wait for terrorists to strike and then use our civilian system to react. Our leaders owe us more than making sure the perpetrators are caught and tried in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. They owe us the protection of these American lives from terrorism in the first place.