I know it's cliche, but this video from Return of the Jedi best sums up how I feel today. I'm sure many of you may disagree with me. I respectfully disagree with your "The ends justify the means" approach to this last administration's pissing on our constitution and Geneva convention.
I'm just glad that the last remnants of this Old Republic will never be swept away.
God/Allah/Buddha/Zeus/Science/Americans Bless America.
It's a new dawn.
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2 comments:
While I'm far from pleased with the previous administration (I campaigned against Bush and those who knew me then know that I had no love for the man), it's simply not reasonable to always apply the Geneva conventions to the current situation.
One, the Geneva conventions were intended to cover declared conflicts between states and define the treatment of uniformed combatants. The current situation does not meet the first test nor do the combatants meet the second.
Two, the United States was not a signatory to the most recent round of conventions. Thus while one can argue for a moral imperative, there is hardly a legal one.
Three, as a moral exercise, it's wonderful to extend rights to everyone and to "assume innocence"; however, there's truly a certain presumption of guilt when one is "captured" while "armed" on a "battlefield". Of course, I put those words in quotes because there's a bit of fluidity in those terms in the current situation.
Four, while I'm opposed to the seeming ease with which the previous administration disregarded the Constitution, as someone with several family members in areas of conflict, I ascribe to one of the traditional perspectives of military power -- namely, if it's a fair fight, you're doing it wrong. I don't want my enemies fairly treated -- I want them dead and thereby rendered permanently incapable of harming those I love.
reinharden
Then surely you do not want the US to have the reputation of torture. It plainly gives other nations the right to torture your family members should they capture them in battle. Truth is, we want our tough guys on that wall. But if they honestly feel in a specific situation that something of life or death importance could be gained by torturing, then they should also be willing to defend that in a court of law.
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