It's quite Easy

to defend detainees that are supposed terrorists. Just say the following:

• "they're people, too"
• "there are two sides to every coin"
• "the real evil is to (negatively) judge"

It's the One World, "we're all one human race under the same sun" type of mentality. It's not really flower-power, but it's a mindset that often falls into "let's give them the benefit of the doubt."

You then come off as a sensitive, well-meaning, thoughtful and intelligent person.

Of course, each of the above can be used for most of any modern social cause. Surprise, surprise.