[Twodees]

Without a declaration of war, traitors go unpunished. Sedition laws should always be avoided, or if necessary, made to apply most harshly to elected officials and government employees, both of whom are in a position to cause damage by their speech. Sedition laws are too easily abused by people in government who are prone to abuse power. This is why those laws are repealed after a war ends, because they conflict with the right of free political speech.

A declaration of war is the dividing line between treason and free speech. The President should press for a declaration of war to observe Constitutional rule and to bring treason into the jurisdiction of the military courts. Otherwise, prosecution is nearly impossible in many cases and improper in every case.

[Imperial Warrior]

A formal declaration of war is just that, a formality. Unfortunately, there is no clearly indentifiable enemy, since terrorists do not represent a specific country, entire group, or population. Also, they run and hide, and do not face the enemy on a battlefield wearing the uniforms of their cause or country. These individuals do not follow any conventional notions of warfare as we know it, so they cannot be considered soldiers. Furthermore, since they obey no laws, abide by no international agreements or conventions, or observe no limitations as to weaponry, tactics, or behavior, formal declarations of war and intent on our behalf are meaningless to them. As for domestic symapthizers and fellow travellers to their cause; I believe when the President and Commander In Chief declared that we were at war, a formal declaration of this fact could said to have already been given. Even without a state of war being declared, anyone who is proven to have treated, aided, or abetted an enemy of the United States should be considered as a traitor and dealt with accordingly. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for treason although we were not at war with the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, later acts treason have not been punished as in the cases of Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanson, and these involved military secrets also given to nations we were not at war with.