I only have to offer here a few comments on the absurd and repulsive nature in which our U.S. government conducts itself. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the primary suspect in the murder of 16 civilians in Afghanistan that occurred last week, has already been transferred to a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where inmates are served three meals a day and allowed three hours a day for recreation.

Now consider that Bradley Manning, a U.S. Army soldier who leaked classified information to the organization WikiLeaks, was held in incredibly strict solitary confinement for 10 months, under conditions described by the UN’s special official on torture as “cruel, inhuman and degrading.” Compare the two crimes, and compare the two sentences. The message seems to be that killing innocent people in cold blood just is not quite as bad as attempting to preserve government transparency.

Now consider the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen living in Yemen. The executive branch of our government ordered his killing without any degree of due process or any shred of evidence other than, basically, “Take our word for it.” Even if al-Awlaki was guilty, the complete disregard for basic constitutional rights is illustrative of the erosion of civil liberties in our country. And compare the case of al-Awlaki to that of Bales. Al-Awlaki never killed a single person, while it seems fairly certain (although to be sure, he is innocent until proven guilty) that Bales did in fact kill those 16 civilians — yet Bales certainly is going to be given an opportunity to have his case heard in a courtroom.

Edward Mostoller is a senior majoring in political science.