AP: Gitmo might not close by Jan. deadline http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-09-25-gitmo-closing_N.htm?csp=15
Well there you go, one Marine's opinion. And he is very qualified to talk on this matter. I also couldn't agree with him more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II Unfortunately, war is a terrible business and you have to do terrible things to win.
You're recommending we drop high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on Gitmo? Seriously though, I see your point and I agree to the extent that these things are a ugly necessity to win a war. But this is not a conventional war, it's a "war on terror". We're not fighting a nation or an ally of nations. It's like declaring war on the Mafia or Klu Klux Klan. You can't just lump the whole region into "enemy territory". These terrorist are just as much the enemy of the US as they are of the majority of people in the Middle East. Keeping the moral high ground is essential in winning or we are likely to create more terrorist by showing indifference to the culture and religion. This has been echoed by those running the wars in the Middle East
I've never seen anyone suggest a reasonable alternative to something like Gitmo. The guys imprisoned there are not criminals, not arrested committing some crime. They're something like POWs, and Gitmo does resemble a POW camp. As for the "torture," I don't see any moral high ground issue. It is still a war - we have troops on the ground and they're being shot at. The war may be asymmetric, but that doesn't preclude us from doing what it takes to win. I don't see any new terrorists made by reports of "torture" - if anything it would give the enemy some reason to pause before beheading the next westerner they've kidnapped. In fact, the beheadings have seemed to cease, and the terrorists are losing popularity because they're hurting and killing civilians.
Golly, if we just treat them well, they'll love us! Bullshit. Middle Eastern culture respects strength, not mercy. I don't give a shit about the moral high ground. I want these people to know if they hide behind women and children, if they kill innocents, they're not going to paradise, but be trapped in a living hell until their lives mercifully end a few decades from now.
