Twelve years after 9/11 we still vigorously debate whether or not Osama Bin Laden should have been captured or should have received a criminal trial. Terrorists are not criminals, they are not soldiers (as defined by the Geneva Convention) and they are not states, regardless of their appearance. The definition for terrorism is not "one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist," a phrase that is the refuge of scoundrels. Terrorists are those who are motivated by political goals and use violence to instill fear, primarily against non-combatants. If the west fails to fully understand this, and wallows in a false narcissistic debate about criminality versus the laws of war, the west is defeated before it begins.