Assuming these people are hard core al Qaeda with some connection to 9/11 then simply releasing them is not an option. These guys are the human equivalent to spent radioactive fuel rods from a nuclear reactor. I assume we're keeping them alive because they have some potential intelligence value. However in a couple of years, everything they know will be so out-of-date that the information will have no strategic value. I doubt it is politically practical to have military tribunals followed by executions (standard practice during World War 2). Maybe the goal is to keep them locked up until they go completely nuts and then release them as harmless vegetables. Is that a more humane solution?

This is an "interesting" problem in ethics. I suspect there are people in Washington running around in circles trying to devise a solution. I'm glad I don't have to come up with the answer.

Gary