Security guru Bruce Schneier has the right idea:

We should treat terrorists like common criminals and give them all the benefits of true and open justice — not merely because it demonstrates our indomitability, but because it makes us all safer. Once a society starts circumventing its own laws, the risks to its future stability are much greater than terrorism.

Point I tried to make — repeatedly — in If We Can Keep It.

Hat tip to James Fallows’s blog for the reference (and his commentary is also well worth the read).