Donald Rumsfeld today said that most of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba will be held until the global war on terror ends but they will not be afforded trials.

Rumsfeld said the 660 or so men held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base are imprisoned not as punishment but "to keep them from going back and fighting again and killing people." He said most would be held until the global war on terrorism is over - a fight that Rumsfeld has said could last years, if not decades.

The defense secretary said he expects some suspects to be tried before military tribunals but prefers that most continue to be imprisoned indefinitely.

"Our interest is in not trying them and letting them out," he said in a question-and-answer session after a speech to the National Press Club. "Our interest is in - during this global war on terror - keeping them off the streets, and so that's what's taking place."

So we're going to continue to pay to incarcerate hundreds of men for possibly decades? With no criminal charges, no access to a lawyer and no judicial hearings or trials? What country is this?