Dick Durbin

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

we do not give them any sort of due process whatsoever, and that is wrong. Not only is it wrong, it only reinforces what the bad guys are saying about us.

No, Wendy, it isn't. They are not criminals subject to the laws of our country. They have no constitutionally gauranteed rights. They have no right to a trial (at this point, and perhaps never - just release at the end of hostilities unless they are tried for war crimes). They have no right to due process. They are not American citizens. They are not foreign nationals who committed a crime on our soil.

What they are are prisoners of war. They are not to be released until the end of hostilities.

I personally don't care about what the bad guys are saying about us, but it sure raises my ire a bit when a Senator such as Durbin says things that clearly give them aid and comfort - which is precisely why they are playing what he said on Al Jazeera.

[wendybeth]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

No, Wendy, it isn't. They are not criminals subject to the laws of our country. They have no constitutionally gauranteed rights. They have no right to a trial (at this point, and perhaps never - just release at the end of hostilities unless they are tried for war crimes). They have no right to due process. They are not American citizens. They are not foreign nationals who committed a crime on our soil.



What they are are prisoners of war. They are not to be released until the end of hostilities.

I personally don't care about what the bad guys are saying about us, but it sure raises my ire a bit when a Senator such as Durbin says things that clearly give them aid and comfort - which is precisely why they are playing what he said on Al Jazeera.

Exactly my point. They are not American citizens, therefore they are not deserving of any sort of judicial hearing or proceeding- they are being held as 'enemy combatants'. I suppose now that we've set the precedent, any other country can just grab an American citzen and make the same claim. Never mind that they are civilian engineers, or relief workers, or anything but soldiers. The people that have been seized up until now have been referred to as hostages, but by your logic they are really enemy combatants to the other side. There are at least two sides to any war, correct? I don't see them as such, and that is why I don't necessarily see all the Gitmo detainees as POW's. It's just not that black and white, and things are never as clear as a politician would lead you to believe.
Btw- since when do only Americans deserve basic civil rights? That's so frikken elitest, I don't even know how to respond. We had the good sense to draft a constitution just in case a situation like this arose, so that means only we get the special treatment?

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

Btw- since when do only Americans deserve basic civil rights? That's so frikken elitest, I don't even know how to respond. We had the good sense to draft a constitution just in case a situation like this arose, so that means only we get the special treatment?

Not elitist in the least. Citizenship has always had benefits for the citizens of any given country. Only American citizens are privileged t ohave the rights gauranteed by our Constitution. This is the way it has always been.

Interestingly, though, when we dare to suggest that other countries grant similar liberties to their own citizens, we are accused of trying to impose our own form of democracy and society on these other cultures. Isn't that something else that is frequently regarded as elitist?

How dare us not grant our own civil liberties to those who would attack us for trying to bring democracy and similar civil liberties to their region of the planet!