Well, the MSM has me convinced!
In the wake of the suicides of the three "detainees" at GTMO, the left and their cohorts in the media are worked up into a lather about the conditions of the prisoners at our base in Guantanamo Bay. It appears that the suicides were committed using bed sheets and clothing, and procedures have since been changed so that sheets are given out just before bed.
The astute among you will note the use of derisive quotes in the first sentence of the above paragraph. It is a style that I have decided to adopt to illustrate how out of touch the MSM really is. Here's an example:
From Agence France-Presse: "MIAMI (AFP) - Pressure mounted within the United States and from abroad to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison camp following the suicides of three 'enemy combatant' detainees over the weekend."
(Note the term enemy combatant - correctly identifying the legal status of those imprisoned at GTMO - placed in derisive quotes).
I know what you're thinking, dear reader: hang on a second! Isn't The Monarchist's usage of derisive quotes around the word detainees actually the right way to do it? Terrorists or enemy combatants being called detainees belies the media's bias (why not call them captives, for instance?), so putting detainees in derisive quotes is proper usage. You, dear reader, would be right-o.
First, the 460 or so people being held in GTMO are terrorists or suspected of terrorist activities. They were picked up in Afghanistan, or Pakistan, or in any number of locations. Second, it is beyond reason or any form of logic to suggest that these enemy combatants should be released while we are still engaged in hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. This isn't a fishing tournament; we don't have to send the little ones back because to hang on to them would be "unfair" somehow. Until the fight is over, we have every right to detain the people we catch, no matter how big of a prison we have to build. Every terrorist in GTMO is one less terrorist who can kill a US Soldier or an innocent civilian.
Imagine the same conversation being held in 1943. Senator Clueless: We have an obligation to release these German and Japanese combatants, or try them in US Courts. What kind of a generation are we, that we let such nonsense into the national discourse? Would that Greatest Generation have tolerated such seditious sentiment? At the minimum, can't rational thinkers all agree that such views are at their best and most innocent a product of stupidity?
Secondly, why are we supposed to be concerned with the rights, let alone the treatment, of people who either have tried to kill us, supported those who have, or are possibly interested in doing so? How morally confused have we become as a society? At what point did political correctness trump the instinct of self-preservation?
All this notwithstanding, international human rights groups, Democrats, and the media all issue dire warnings about the pressure to close the prison at GTMO - which brings us back to the point. Three prisoners killed themselves on Saturday (and I thought the Religion of Peace had rules against this sort of thing). But I fancy myself a fair guy, so I'll tell you what. I'm an Internationalist at heart, that I am. Heck, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Multiculturalist. So, here's my proposition: we start following the lead of the Religion of Peace, and treat the prisoners we have with the same respect, dignity, and kindness that they have afforded the prisoners they've caught. By my estimation, this should earn us the respect of the Democrats, the UN, the US media and international human rights groups. Lord knows they've been too busy worrying about what enemy combatants have to eat at GTMO or if their Korans were desecrated to condemn the violence being perpetrated upon innocent Iraqi civilians and American soldiers (although if pressed, most would adamantly "support" the troops).
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2 comments:
While I share your frustration about the MSM's brainwashing campaign, I would remind you that care must be taken in attempting to dismantle it.
It is admirable that Americans, in general, are willing to go the extra mile to see that those enemy combatants are treated humanely. It is a test of character to treat one's prisoners humanely, is it not?
There is also a commendable sense of wishing to avoid the Japanese internment camp mentality of WW II.
I am in agreement that those enemy combatants need to be detained, and that the MSM ought to get their act together and start reporting facts instead of editorializing everything as though I can't think for myself. I also believe that it is essential to promoting the character and principles of the American people that those enemy combatants be treated well. I am afraid, however, that my definition of "treated well" is more in keeping with the warden of Maricopa County Arizona's sheriff Joe Arpaio’s approach to what prison should be.
In this age of video coverage, it is so much more important that journalists possess integrity and a dedication to presenting only the facts. Unfortunately, I see little of this in today's talking heads.(Although, to tell you the truth, I have not been watching them much in the past 5 years or so. I prefer to get my news from other less preachy sources.) They seem to have decided that America is filled with beer swilling morons who wouldn't know which way was up if they weren't subtly guided to the "correct" opinion.
Mom, you're right, and my point was just that - we ARE treating them pretty darn good by any standard. That three of them decided to take their own lives doesn't disprove that fact.
Short of releasing people who will likely kill US soldiers or innocent civilians, I don't think the left would be happy. Maybe if we give them cable TV and hot tubs?
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