6.30.2007

Guantanamo: "No Legal Basis" for Holding Detainees

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that the problem with hearings for the detainees at Guantanamo Bay is that there is NO LEGAL BASIS for holding them and that they SHOULD NEVER BE RELEASED.

First of all, if we are not a nation of laws, what are we?

Secondly, by deciding that all detainees should never be released, and denying them a fair hearing, you are making sure that no one will ever find out if you've imprisoned the wrong person.

Wrongful imprisonment is a very important issue here because of how the detainees were treated. Making sure the detainees never get out is a great way to see to it that no one ever knows what you did.

It was never a great strategy, and one that will fail in the near future.

2 comments:

The Lazy Iguana said...

Well, in reality they should never be released. Lets look at the mess that was created by Mr. Short Bus Rider.

The detainees were either terrorist operatives or not. It is unreasonable to suggest that they are all innocent, as it is unreasonable to suggest they are all guilty.

But no matter what, you know they have to hate us now. I like Canada and Canadians. But if Canadian special forces came to Miami, captured me, and dragged me off to some isolated outpost so I could be "questioned" and live in a dog cage I might be pissed off. After a few years I may even hate Canada.

Then I am just let go. Do you think I will not look for a group that wants to target Canadians in or out of Canada? Some of the people may just want to go home and pick up where they left off, but some of them will become exactly what we accused them of being in the first place.

And if the guys ARE terrorists, they already hated the USA before they were locked up without AC in a climate they were not used to (humidity up the wazoo) AND "questioned" AND cut off from everything and who knows what else. I doubt they are going to have a change of heart during all this and decide America is not such a bad place after all.

So what do we do here? I do not know. But as I did not create the problem in the first place, I am not obligated to have any ideas.

Jandi for The Fuzz said...

Sort of like stepping in doodoo.