Israeli-Style Justice?

According to Slate's Today's Papers column,

"One of the main disagreements with Bush's military tribunal proposal has to do with the provision allowing judges to deny an accused terrorist the right to see classified evidence that could be used to sentence him to death."

Three summers ago, I went to Israel, and reported onthe procedures governing Palestinians brought to Israeli military prisons. Those who are deemed to be an immediate security threat may be held for renewable terms of six months under a category called "administrative detention". They also go through hearings with secret evidence.

"The goal of administrative detention is to put people away who are dangerous to public order and safety," says a military official. "It's a preventative measure that's done because of the danger the people present. As a rule we are interested in putting people on trial, rather than detaining them. But if we have information not divulgeable in court that someone is about to blow himself up as a suicide bomber . . . this may seem like an extreme example, but we have examples of those types of cases." Administrative detainees are not accused of any crime. Sometimes the file available to their lawyers [lawyers are provided by nonprofits, not guaranteed by the government] contains only one sentence: "This person is dangerous to the security of the nation."

I love Israel. I support its right to exist. And I believe that democracy in Israel is compromised by the nation's treatment of Palestinians, in its justice system and elsewhere.

So, is America really ready to implement these kinds of procedures? Openly? Is this the justice we want?