According to this AP article on Yahoo, 14,000 is the number of people being held without access to a lawyer or being charged with a crime that are being held against their will in U.S. run overseas prisons. 13,000 of them in Iraq.

One such example is of Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi citizen and AP photographer.

[Update: Here’s another great example of the “enemy combatants” who are so dangerous they must be held in Gitmo.]

Already, over 18,000 people have been released because they were deemed innocent. But one wonders after being held in a prision for months and even years, how this endears us to them after they are set free. More then likely, those that already hated us, hate us even more and those that were on the fence now see us as their tormentors. While “radical islamists” are telling the world we are evil, we go out of our way and prove it. In effect, our own actions only serve to create more of the enemy.

Bush tells us this is to protect us from those evil-doers who wish us harm. But you can’t fight evil by becoming it. The “war on terror” shouldn’t be fought by instilling terror in the hearts of innocent people. We as Americans need to stand up for what is right before the world can’t tell which side are the real terrorists.