JahManRed
wank
+646|7049|IRELAND

usmarine2 wrote:

but didnt do anything about it.  talk is cheap.
So what should we have done then? Armed and trained them in terrorism. How to make IED's, shaped charges etc so they can use it against our solders in years to come? Oh wait.....................

Last edited by JahManRed (2008-07-16 06:24:27)

ReTox
Member
+100|6920|State of RETOXification
Mr. Harper and the Torry Government have chosen to ignore the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

He's Canadian... extradite him under our treaties and deal with him here.  That is what those treaties are for after all.  Guilty or not he should be released to Canadian authorities.  Same goes for citizens of any country the US has extradition agreements with.

Get off the "pound of flesh" bandwagon and start dealing with the Gitmo Detainees legally!  The US government lauds their high and mighty "Freedom Fries" eating superiority of laws and rights... but then they turn around and piss on those same ideals as soon as the square peg doesn't fit in the round hole.

Law is law and it applies to everyone... not just those the government decides deserve the legal system.
Braddock
Agitator
+916|6712|Éire

FEOS wrote:

Spark wrote:

I'm interested. What secret information, what memo did you guys get detailing all the evidence making this guy guilty?

Throw him in trial for fuck's sake. 6 years... and you call yourself the home of the free.
Same question could be asked of those who claim he's innocent, has been tortured, and has/had no intel value.

He IS going on trial...in a few months. That's who released the video: His defense lawyers.
Fair enough the video doesn't exactly contain anything groundbreaking or definitively damning either way but two important factors in this debate are completely undeniable...

1. This kid was 15 when he was caught...a child.

2. It has taken 6 YEARS to get him to trial. If he turns out to be innocent that is 6 years of his life that he will never get back and that in itself is a crime.
Ryan
Member
+1,230|7264|Alberta, Canada

Why doesn't he just escape from Guantanamo Bay? Harold and Kumar can...
usmarine2
Banned
+233|6212|Dublin, Ohio

JahManRed wrote:

usmarine2 wrote:

but didnt do anything about it.  talk is cheap.
So what should we have done then? Armed and trained them in terrorism. How to make IED's, shaped charges etc so they can use it against our solders in years to come? Oh wait.....................
they were being slaughtered.  women and children.  fuck yes you should have done something you idiot.
God Save the Queen
Banned
+628|6765|tropical regions of london
lol
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|7022|132 and Bush

FEOS wrote:

Spark wrote:

I'm interested. What secret information, what memo did you guys get detailing all the evidence making this guy guilty?

Throw him in trial for fuck's sake. 6 years... and you call yourself the home of the free.
Same question could be asked of those who claim he's innocent, has been tortured, and has/had no intel value.

He IS going on trial...in a few months. That's who released the video: His defense lawyers.
The video is missing about seven hours also.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
God Save the Queen
Banned
+628|6765|tropical regions of london
oh fuck! that home of the free shit again.  I just wanna punch something when I read that.
13rin
Member
+977|6901

CameronPoe wrote:

DBBrinson1 wrote:

Braddock wrote:

Just seen the video on Channel4 news. Congratulations America...15 years old. What's next, are you going to lock up emo's for hating the Government (being that the Government is part of the world, which they hate)?
Well, if they start hucking grenades at US troops.....  Frags and flying lead don't give a fuck how old you are.  He tossed a nade.  You usually don't get a mere 'time out' if you're caught by the enemy doing that.  Besides you don't know what else he's said since then and done.  Maybe he saying "Fuck you guys when I get out.. It's jihad time."  One sided
C'mon now DB - even Nazi Germany afforded American PoWs protection under the Geneva Convention. The Nazis for Christ's sake!
Well I guess they could cut his head off and make an internet video out of it..
I stood in line for four hours. They better give me a Wal-Mart gift card, or something.  - Rodney Booker, Job Fair attendee.
13rin
Member
+977|6901

Braddock wrote:

FEOS wrote:

Spark wrote:

I'm interested. What secret information, what memo did you guys get detailing all the evidence making this guy guilty?

Throw him in trial for fuck's sake. 6 years... and you call yourself the home of the free.
Same question could be asked of those who claim he's innocent, has been tortured, and has/had no intel value.

He IS going on trial...in a few months. That's who released the video: His defense lawyers.
Fair enough the video doesn't exactly contain anything groundbreaking or definitively damning either way but two important factors in this debate are completely undeniable...

1. This kid was 15 when he was caught...a child.

2. It has taken 6 YEARS to get him to trial. If he turns out to be innocent that is 6 years of his life that he will never get back and that in itself is a crime.
1. It was a fucking grenade.  One soldier died and another is blind. 

2. He's lucky American's show compassion to their enemy and saved his ass.  He would have died.  His ass is on borrowed time as far as I'm concerned...

Last edited by DBBrinson1 (2008-07-16 19:39:09)

I stood in line for four hours. They better give me a Wal-Mart gift card, or something.  - Rodney Booker, Job Fair attendee.
ReTox
Member
+100|6920|State of RETOXification

DBBrinson1 wrote:

2. He's lucky American's show compassion to their enemy and saved his ass.  He would have died.  His ass is on borrowed time as far as I'm concerned...


Ask Romeo Dallaire about child soldiers and you'll see what true compassion is.

I read statements like "he's on borrowed time" about a child and think arrogance, ignorance, and utter stupidity.  If he killed a soldier then fine he should be charged.  In fact he should have been charged about 5 years and 51 weeks ago.

So how do you feel about Blackwater then?  Khadr might have killed a single soldier (that is not meant to diminish this soldier's sacrifice) but Blackwater is known to have murdered many civilians.  Seems they have been given a bit of a whitewash by the gov. because "it was combat".

Hypocracy on a grand scale.

I remember growing up and seeing an America that was proud, strong, and free.  Now all I see is the kid who got bullied turning into the bully.  Very sad.
Braddock
Agitator
+916|6712|Éire

DBBrinson1 wrote:

Braddock wrote:

FEOS wrote:


Same question could be asked of those who claim he's innocent, has been tortured, and has/had no intel value.

He IS going on trial...in a few months. That's who released the video: His defense lawyers.
Fair enough the video doesn't exactly contain anything groundbreaking or definitively damning either way but two important factors in this debate are completely undeniable...

1. This kid was 15 when he was caught...a child.

2. It has taken 6 YEARS to get him to trial. If he turns out to be innocent that is 6 years of his life that he will never get back and that in itself is a crime.
1. It was a fucking grenade.  One soldier died and another is blind. 

2. He's lucky American's show compassion to their enemy and saved his ass.  He would have died.  His ass is on borrowed time as far as I'm concerned...
Well then fucking bring him to trial and process him according to the letter of the law if he's so fucking guilty, jeez.

Also, whether you care to admit it or not, he was also a child when he allegedly carried out that attack and is therefore partially a victim himself due to his lack of maturity and responsibility being exploited by the insurgency.
13rin
Member
+977|6901

Braddock wrote:

Well then fucking bring him to trial and process him according to the letter of the law if he's so fucking guilty, jeez.

Also, whether you care to admit it or not, he was also a child when he allegedly carried out that attack and is therefore partially a victim himself due to his lack of maturity and responsibility being exploited by the insurgency.
I'm all for the right to a speedy trial, but he's not an American.  I only buy into the kid argument to a point.  A 15 year old knows the consequences of a grenade.  You guys see a snippet of a video and all rush to the WT viewpoint.  There is a reason he's there.  I'd like to know what a 15 year old Canadian is doing thousands of miles away in a fucking war zone to begin with. 


Detox wrote:

Bronson1 wrote:

2. He's lucky Americans show compassion to their enemy and saved his ass.  He would have died.  His ass is on borrowed time as far as I'm concerned...
:roll eyes:

Ask Romeo Dallaire about child soldiers and you'll see what true compassion is.
Whatever.  The US could have left him for dead.  They didn't.  That is compassion.  Look it up. 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compassion

Or now do you claim that the US should be held to yet again to a different set of standards?


ReTox wrote:

I read statements like "he's on borrowed time" about a child and think arrogance, ignorance, and utter stupidity.  If he killed a soldier then fine he should be charged.  In fact he should have been charged about 5 years and 51 weeks ago.
Fact.  The US Soldiers prevented him from dying.  How is that not being considered borrowed time?  The kid was as good as dead.  It is arrogance, ignorance, and utter stupidity to argue against.  The fact that if the Government hasn't gone forward with the case shows that their unwillingness to sentence him to life wrongly.  Rather them take a few years or the life?

ReTox wrote:

So how do you feel about Blackwater then?  Khadr might have killed a single soldier (that is not meant to diminish this soldier's sacrifice) but Blackwater is known to have murdered many civilians.  Seems they have been given a bit of a whitewash by the gov. because "it was combat".

Hypocracy on a grand scale.
Let's look at how the other side operates before you start tossing Blackwater in the mix.  Do you really want to go there? 

ReTox wrote:

I remember growing up and seeing an America that was proud, strong, and free.  Now all I see is the kid who got bullied turning into the bully.  Very sad.
I think it's sad that there are Americans like you that actually believe that kind of drivel.
I stood in line for four hours. They better give me a Wal-Mart gift card, or something.  - Rodney Booker, Job Fair attendee.
Braddock
Agitator
+916|6712|Éire
TO DBBrinson1...

Like it or lump it he is a child and I would have liked to have thought that the US weren't as backward as some other countries in terms of how they treat minors...I believe Iran took a lot of flak a while back for processing a minor as an adult in their legal system.

The fact of the matter is there is no excuse for holding someone for that amount of time without either charging and sentencing them or letting them go. You are violating all sorts of legal and ethical codes by doing this with detainees, you are also tarnishing your name on the world stage and providing those inclined towards radicalism with a form of validation for their beliefs (as they would see it).

Tell me DB why on earth should it take 6 years to bring a detainee to trial? Why?
13rin
Member
+977|6901
He tossed a grenade killing an American Soldier and blinding another.

Last edited by DBBrinson1 (2008-07-17 11:19:23)

I stood in line for four hours. They better give me a Wal-Mart gift card, or something.  - Rodney Booker, Job Fair attendee.
Braddock
Agitator
+916|6712|Éire

DBBrinson1 wrote:

He tossed a grenade killing an American Soldier and blinding another.
And how does that answer my question?
Mekstizzle
WALKER
+3,611|7042|London, England
The only thing I agree with, is holding him for 6 years is quite stupid. Just convict him already. Although I'm not sure how shit works when it comes to POW's, he is a POW afterall
13rin
Member
+977|6901

Braddock wrote:

DBBrinson1 wrote:

He tossed a grenade killing an American Soldier and blinding another.
And how does that answer my question?
Fact of the matter this an extreme situation.  The US did not have a good policy in place at the time.  We are at war.  Do I think he should he be tried. Absolutely. Should he be released if there is insufficient evidence to convict him? Absolutely. However, I don't think that he should be released until our guys are out of Iraq.  He was classified as an enemy combatant.
I stood in line for four hours. They better give me a Wal-Mart gift card, or something.  - Rodney Booker, Job Fair attendee.
imortal
Member
+240|7086|Austin, TX

Braddock wrote:

Just seen the video on Channel4 news. Congratulations America...15 years old. What's next, are you going to lock up emo's for hating the Government (being that the Government is part of the world, which they hate)?
Let us not forget that in some cultures, at 15 years old, he would be considered to be a man. 

If you are old enough to fight, you are old enough to suffer the concequeces.  I do not mean accidentally shooting someone. I mean consciously and with foreknowledge, gathering together with others who are armed, and go to the US base with the intention of causing harm and mahem.

Was the kid just walking by for some reason and run into the attack in progress and decide that attacking was the cool thing to do?  Did to US base go ambling by them, making fun of them and taunting them to attack it, and the people inside?

Why is it that no one directs anger at anyone willing to use 15 year-olds in the conflict in the first place?
Braddock
Agitator
+916|6712|Éire

DBBrinson1 wrote:

Braddock wrote:

DBBrinson1 wrote:

He tossed a grenade killing an American Soldier and blinding another.
And how does that answer my question?
Fact of the matter this an extreme situation.  The US did not have a good policy in place at the time.  We are at war.  Do I think he should he be tried. Absolutely. Should he be released if there is insufficient evidence to convict him? Absolutely. However, I don't think that he should be released until our guys are out of Iraq.  He was classified as an enemy combatant.
"Enemy combatant" is just a term that has been made up so that you can do what you like with who you capture. I'm sorry but the US is always at war, does that mean these people will be detained indefinitely without ever being given a trial? There are both domestic and International legal procedures in existence with which to process these people and yet the US chooses to move the goalposts and keep them in this grey area where justice is perpetually on hold.

Either bring them to trial and sentence them or declare them innocent and let them go.
Braddock
Agitator
+916|6712|Éire

imortal wrote:

Braddock wrote:

Just seen the video on Channel4 news. Congratulations America...15 years old. What's next, are you going to lock up emo's for hating the Government (being that the Government is part of the world, which they hate)?
Let us not forget that in some cultures, at 15 years old, he would be considered to be a man. 

If you are old enough to fight, you are old enough to suffer the concequeces.  I do not mean accidentally shooting someone. I mean consciously and with foreknowledge, gathering together with others who are armed, and go to the US base with the intention of causing harm and mahem.

Was the kid just walking by for some reason and run into the attack in progress and decide that attacking was the cool thing to do?  Did to US base go ambling by them, making fun of them and taunting them to attack it, and the people inside?

Why is it that no one directs anger at anyone willing to use 15 year-olds in the conflict in the first place?
I'll raise two points with you in relation to your post...

Firstly, which cultures would consider him a man...sweat-shop countries like China and Pakistan? Well, if you enjoy being bundled in with that group then I guess there is no point in me debating any further with you.

Secondly, you can debate all you want about the nature of what he done (presuming he's guilty) but it doesn't address the central issue...why hasn't he been either brought to trial and sentenced or declared innocent and released? I mean for fuck's sake...6 years?
imortal
Member
+240|7086|Austin, TX

Braddock wrote:

DBBrinson1 wrote:

Braddock wrote:

And how does that answer my question?
Fact of the matter this an extreme situation.  The US did not have a good policy in place at the time.  We are at war.  Do I think he should he be tried. Absolutely. Should he be released if there is insufficient evidence to convict him? Absolutely. However, I don't think that he should be released until our guys are out of Iraq.  He was classified as an enemy combatant.
"Enemy combatant" is just a term that has been made up so that you can do what you like with who you capture. I'm sorry but the US is always at war, does that mean these people will be detained indefinitely without ever being given a trial? There are both domestic and International legal procedures in existence with which to process these people and yet the US chooses to move the goalposts and keep them in this grey area where justice is perpetually on hold.

Either bring them to trial and sentence them or declare them innocent and let them go.
Well, we [could] always fit them into the Geneva Convention... let's see... they are fighting, not wearing a standard uniform.  That would place them as... spies.  execution, then?

If they do not play by the rules, they are not subject to the protections.  The entire PURPOSE of the conventions is reciprocity.  'if you will play by these rules, then I will too.'

Prisoners of War are not subject to trial.  They are held until a cessation of the hositlities, to prevent them being recycled back into the war.  The alternative is to simply not capture anyone.  To not accept surrenders.  After all, out of the allied soldiers that the inusrgants have captured, how many have been either returned alive, or in any meaningful way be shown to still be alive for any significant time following their capture?  To be caputured by the insurgents is a death sentence. Reciprocity, anyone?

***EDIT: Of course, we could try them, but by whose set of rules?  Their (old) government? US federal law?  UCMJ?  UCMJ gives provisions for the death penalty, and pretty sure Iraqi law does as well.

Last edited by imortal (2008-07-17 11:54:23)

Braddock
Agitator
+916|6712|Éire

imortal wrote:

Braddock wrote:

DBBrinson1 wrote:

Fact of the matter this an extreme situation.  The US did not have a good policy in place at the time.  We are at war.  Do I think he should he be tried. Absolutely. Should he be released if there is insufficient evidence to convict him? Absolutely. However, I don't think that he should be released until our guys are out of Iraq.  He was classified as an enemy combatant.
"Enemy combatant" is just a term that has been made up so that you can do what you like with who you capture. I'm sorry but the US is always at war, does that mean these people will be detained indefinitely without ever being given a trial? There are both domestic and International legal procedures in existence with which to process these people and yet the US chooses to move the goalposts and keep them in this grey area where justice is perpetually on hold.

Either bring them to trial and sentence them or declare them innocent and let them go.
Well, we [could] always fit them into the Geneva Convention... let's see... they are fighting, not wearing a standard uniform.  That would place them as... spies.  execution, then?

If they do not play by the rules, they are not subject to the protections.  The entire PURPOSE of the conventions is reciprocity.  'if you will play by these rules, then I will too.'

Prisoners of War are not subject to trial.  They are held until a cessation of the hositlities, to prevent them being recycled back into the war.  The alternative is to simply not capture anyone.  To not accept surrenders.  After all, out of the allied soldiers that the inusrgants have captured, how many have been either returned alive, or in any meaningful way be shown to still be alive for any significant time following their capture?  To be caputured by the insurgents is a death sentence. Reciprocity, anyone?

***EDIT: Of course, we could try them, but by whose set of rules?  Their (old) government? US federal law?  UCMJ?  UCMJ gives provisions for the death penalty, and pretty sure Iraqi law does as well.
Except the US don't declare conventional wars anymore, they declare wars on vague subjects and concepts (like "drugs" and "terror") and hence anyone who falls under the umbrella of these wars is processed as an enemy combatant irrespective of International boundaries. This basically gives the US license to snatch and detain whoever they want, wherever they want, for as long as they want - given that such wars lack the typical finite duration of a conventional war.

In relation to treating them all as spies and thus executing them I'm afraid it's not that simple. The Geneva convention contains several loopholes in its definition of what exactly constitutes a 'spy', including one that states that "soldiers and civilians carrying out their mission openly" are not considered spies. So just because an insurgent is not wearing a uniform it does not make him a spy.

And if you are using the fact that all detainees are "prisoners of war" as the excuse for indefinite detention until hostilities end then you are violating the Geneva convention by not affording them the human rights set out for prisoners of war in the convention.

I notice a lot of people here use the actions of Al Qaeda and how they treat those that they capture as a defence for how the US treat detainees, as though two wrongs somehow make a right. I thought you were taking these guys on because they were terrorists? It's getting increasingly hard to tell the difference between the two sides these days.

Last edited by Braddock (2008-07-17 12:39:20)

imortal
Member
+240|7086|Austin, TX

Braddock wrote:

Except the US don't declare conventional wars anymore, they declare wars on vague subjects and concepts (like "drugs" and "terror") and hence anyone who falls under the umbrella of these wars is processed as an enemy combatant irrespective of International boundaries. This basically gives the US license to snatch and detain whoever they want, wherever they want, for as long as they want - given that such wars lack the typical finite duration of a conventional war.
I actually agree with you here; the problem is one of the press and hyperbole.  It sounds really great to be "declaring war..." on something.  It has now lost its meaning.

Braddock wrote:

In relation to treating them all as spies and thus executing them I'm afraid it's not that simple. The Geneva convention contains several loopholes in its definition of what exactly constitutes a 'spy', including one that states that "soldiers and civilians carrying out their mission openly" are not considered spies. So just because an insurgent is not wearing a uniform it does not make him a spy.
That article was slid in by the USSR to cover their 'freedom fighters.'  The United States has never held to that article, and has filed protests against it.

Braddock wrote:

And if you are using the fact that all detainees are "prisoners of war" as the excuse for indefinite detention until hostilities end then you are violating the Geneva convention by not affording them the human rights set out for prisoners of war in the convention.
I will grant you one there, too.  It is doubtful anything the prisoners at Gitmo know has any timely use on the battelfield.  I approve of 'rigourous' methods to be used to determine if new prisoners are part of anything in planning (while being aware of the dubious nature of the information given.), provided that the prisoners appear to have been in a position to know anything; that does not mean every Joe Shmoe on the street.  Once it is determined that they do not know anything time-critical, questioning should cease barring questions about background information; that questioning need not be as strenuous.

Braddock wrote:

I notice a lot of people here use the actions of Al Qaeda and how they treat those that they capture as a defence for how the US treat detainees, as though two wrongs somehow make a right. I thought you were taking these guys on because they were terrorists? It's getting increasingly hard to tell the difference between the two sides these days.
Because it applies.  If reciprocity is not adherred to, then one side has a freedom of action that the other side does not.  The one and only coherent argument for maintaining Geneva Convention style treatment is public relations, international opinion, and propaganda.  Tactically and stragecially (with the current enemy, at least), it makes it much harder.

The Rules of War came about because noblemen wanted to fight, but not get killed.  They wanted to turn war into something... civilized.  Brign an order to chaos, and try to end the endless cycle of rape, pillage, burn, revenge.  They did not want soldiers to fight to the death.  Mercenaries fighting each other awarded one another professional courtesy- no profit in fighting to the death.  More recently, especially with conscripts, it encouraged soldiers to surrender if they knew they were not going to be lined up against a wall and shot.  That made it less costly for both sides.

Unfortunately, wars of beliefs often edge away at these sentaments; the enemy is not a professional soldier, simply doing his duty, and one to be accorded respect for another worker in the second oldest profession.  No, now they are evil incarnate.  If you let them by, they will slit the throats of your children and rape your wives.  No quarter is given. No surrender, no retreat; with your shield or on it.

The problem is, one side is fighting a professional war; one side is fighting a war of beliefs.  Both sides are ridiculed when they break their own rules; the problem is, the other side has no rules.  The problem is, the Iraqi population judge the conflict by their own rules, not those of western society.  If we treat them gently, it is because we are corrupt and weak, and can not stomach a man's work.  If we treat them in a way they understand and respect (or fear), then AI and the western world will scream, looking at the actions based on their more 'refined' ways.

I do not see the US purposely bombing areas populated soley by civilians.  Accidents yes, but accidents happen.  Accidents in wartime are deadly.  It sucks, but it happens.  I do not see the US executing and beheading the people they capture and putting it on the internet.  I do not see the US using places of worship, healing, or education as bases in order to keep the other side from attacking.  I do not see the US hiding behind and amongst the population in order to hide from attack.

The only difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist is what side you are looking at them from.  That is true of Al Quida, Hezbolah, or even the IRA.
deeznutz1245
Connecticut: our chimps are stealin yo' faces.
+483|6914|Connecticut

Braddock wrote:

Tell me DB why on earth should it take 6 years to bring a detainee to trial? Why?
Because six years is nothing compared to the lifetime that was taken away from the man he killed. It is hard to buy into your point of view Braddock when you have no sympothy or consideration for the family who has to live without their loved one. What about them? What about the man who died, or the man who will never be able to see his wife or child again with his eyes. I think about the fact that this was a child, but at the age of 15 if you don't understand that killing another man has irreversable effects than you are deserving of some "rehabilitation time". Six years or so ought to do.
Malloy must go

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