War Without End - NYTimes.com "This War Is Not Over Yet," by Mary L. Dudziak (Op-Ed, Feb. 16), makes a vivid and important observation: despite the end of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, this administration has laid the foundation for a never-ending global battle. Among other wartime privileges the United States claims, it asserts the right to detain people indefinitely until the end of "hostilities." The cost of indefinite detention to human life cannot be overstated. A person indefinitely detained can experience pathological levels of stress that damage the immune and cardiovascular systems, as well as hypertension, depression, suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder and lasting personality changes. Some people even manifest physical symptoms of the psychological trauma like breathing difficulties and physical pain. The United States has an obligation to treat all detainees with a certain standard of care, but when there is no end to the global war against Al Qaeda, indefinite detention is a life sentence without trial, and it can result in lasting physical and mental harm. The writers are, respectively, a medical adviser to Physicians for Human Rights and director of its Anti-Torture Program.