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Guantanamo Prisoners: Justice or Revenge

Guantanamo Prisoners: Justice or Revenge

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said that Al-Qaeda and Taleban prisoners being held under maximum security at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba are being treated humanely.

However, the Pentagon says the detainees are not prisoners of war (POWs) protected by the Geneva Conventions and describes them as "Unlawful combatants" Instead.

Human rights groups and some British parliamentarians insist that the detainees should be treated as POWs.

Red Cross International and Amnesty International said that the conditions of the people being held in Guantanamo are 'inhuman', they have been held for more than two years without any kind of rights to contact their families or lawyers or judges.

What are your thoughts about the Guantanamo Prisoners?

An interesting view also... Source

Revenge Justice Prisoners Guantanamo

It appears to me that if the prisoners at Guantanamo were treated as POWs, it would be a step backward.  From all the reports I have read, they are treated extremely well.

As far as them being POWs, what country, specifically, are we at war with to provide for proper notification and repatriation?  Iraq?  Most of them are Saudis, Afghans, etc.  Most of them were captured before we ever entered Iraq.

Several have been released, and have reported that conditions there were much better than when they were in Afghanistan, and (supposedly) free men.

How are they being mistreated?  What, exactly to the "human rights" people want us to do differently?

(terribly sarcastic replies deleted)

NightHawk

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If you have read my other posts you will probably be surprised by my position on this subject. ;D

I think they should all be released.  I believe, the primary reason we don't refer to them as POWs is we would have already had to release them!

I think, we need to either charge them with some crime and set a trial date or let them go.  I am not a "bleeding heart" liberal.  I am not anti-military.  In fact I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, but I don't think what we are doing is right.  In my opinion, we need to resolve this issue and soon.  

We feel they are a threat so we keep them locked up, but that is not how a civilized, just nation should behave.  There are plenty of people in the US who are threats to someone, but we don't just lock them up because they might do something.  

Those who are a true threat need to have their cases resolved by trial, those who are not should be sent home.

Revenge Justice Prisoners Guantanamo

I tend to agree with you, that they should be tried.

But under what law?  What could the charges be?  These are people who, for the most part, are seeking the destruction of American people, property, and institutions.  They have actively fought, as "illegal combatants" against the US.  They weren't defending Afghanistan, just the Taliban, a terrorist organization.

If some of our marines were captured in Iraq or Afghanistan, how would they have been treated?  Remember Somalia?

I don't have any good answers to this.  The fact is, many of these people are terrorist or at least sympathizers.  If they are let go, will they be the cause of additional deaths of innocent people?  Will they be the ones who drive a truck with a nuclear bomb into downtown Manhattan?

NightHawk

Revenge Justice Prisoners Guantanamo

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I tend to agree with you, that they should be tried. But under what law?  What could the charges be?

I don't know.  It may be they haven't broken any laws.  We need to decide if they have or not.  It seems to me that if they haven't we have no choice but to set them free.  If we don't how are we any better than than communist countries that put polital dissidents in jail?  They maintain that the dissidents are a threat to their society.

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If some of our marines were captured in Iraq or Afghanistan, how would they have been treated?  Remember Somalia?

If we use how someone treats us as an excuse to mistreat someone else, we are no better than they.

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If they are let go, will they be the cause of additional deaths of innocent people?  Will they be the ones who drive a truck with a nuclear bomb into downtown Manhattan?

Quite possibly.  I don't like this possibility, but I don't know what we can do about it and remain a free people.  Maybe we need to make being a terrorist against the law, isn't it already?  If it is then we need to charge them with being terrorists and punish them in whatever way the law allows.  If we are unwilling to do this, then we need to let them go.

I don't believe any government should be allowed to hold someone against their will for an indefinite period of time with no resolution.  If we allow this to happen, we are setting a very dangerous precedent, in my opinion.

Guantanamo Prisoners: Justice or Revenge

Please don't think I disagree with you.  I am very disturbed by many aspects of what is happening.

You are certainly right about the laws.  What they did occured in other countries, outside the jurisdiction of the US.

Their governments should be notified that we will hold them accountable for their actions, then send them home.  However, we then MUST hold those countries accountable.  If any more Syrians, Saudis, or whatever attack us, then we MUST take some substantial action.  Otherwise, we are just appeasing them, sacrificing our own citizens.

NightHawk

Guantanamo Prisoners Justice Revenge

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Their governments should be notified that we will hold them accountable for their actions, then send them home.  However, we then MUST hold those countries accountable.  If any more Syrians, Saudis, or whatever attack us, then we MUST take some substantial action.

I agree wholeheartedly!!!  One of the biggest problems we have at the moment is there is not goverment in Iraq.  However, I think most of these prisoners are from places other than Iraq.

Now, though, what do you do when a citizen of another country does something, but the country claims to have nothing to do with it and doesn't sanction it.  For example, we certainly wouldn't take action against England if one of her citizens were involved in terrorism against us.  I think maybe we should modify our stance to say, "if someone from your country is involved in terrorist activities against us, you must hand them over to us for prosecution or we will assume you are in cohorts with them and take action against your country as a whole.  Incidently, I would take this action against all countries not just the ones we think of as being against us.  Many of our allies wouldn't turn someone over if they could be subject to the death penalty.  I would let them know they could either turn the person over to face our laws or we would take action against them.

I don't think this will ever happen completely, but this is why and how we justified our actions in Afganistan.

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It appears to me that if the prisoners at Guantanamo were treated as POWs, it would be a step backward. From all the reports I have read, they are treated extremely well.

Who told you that? the White House? lol ;D (yeah that was meant to be sarcastic). Now, seriously I'm very surprised that you read that they are treated extremely well because the news about mistreatment in the Guantanamo Prison is all OVER the news (BBC, CNN, FOX etc) and all over the Internet! make a search and you will see all the information I'm talking about. The fact that International Organizations of Human Rights like Amnesty were there and evaluated how this people are being treated is more than enough proof! Most of the criminals are under weight, they're being fed yes but not properly. They are allow to use the 'bathroom' only ONCE a day you may wonder what they do in the rest of the day, well they're given a bottle to use. They're not allowed to get in touch with anybody no police, no judges, no families...and some they have been there for over 3 years! and you think that is to be treated 'extremely well?'.  And I can continue naming more and more...now I'm not defind this people but come on, let's stop the hypocresy of saying that the soldiers captured by the USA are ALWAYS treat humanely because is not true. Pres. Bush always address the issues of individual rights and this people whether they're criminals or not have rights and their rights are being oppresed by the USA at this present time.

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We feel they are a threat so we keep them locked up, but that is not how a civilized, just nation should behave.  There are plenty of people in the US who are threats to someone, but we don't just lock them up because they might do something.   Those who are a true threat need to have their cases resolved by trial, those who are not should be sent home.

Exactly, this is what I think. I agree with this 100%.

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But under what law?  What could the charges be?

This is definetly the tough one. I suppose under the International Law but I don't see the US making any move to put this people to trial, what they're waiting for?.

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If some of our marines were captured in Iraq or Afghanistan, how would they have been treated?  Remember Somalia?

Are you justifying the mistreatment and abuse?

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I don't know.  It may be they haven't broken any laws.  We need to decide if they have or not.  It seems to me that if they haven't we have no choice but to set them free.  If we don't how are we any better than than communist countries that put polital dissidents in jail?  They maintain that the dissidents are a threat to their society.

Excellent point! this is what I was trying to say (psss is hard having english as a second language, the freedom of 'speech' is not the same ;D ) The USA want to set   as the example of freedom and liberty but at the same time they do sometimes certain things like dictators or how communist countries are. I don't get it. The double speech is what bothers me the most. 'Do you agree with us?' 'Yes, I do' 'great we are allies' 'Do you agree with us?' 'No, I don't' 'You're in favor of the terrorists and you're not going to get any support or money from us'. It is so childish in my opinion. 'You are with us or against us' is totally dictatorship in my opinion.

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Their governments should be notified that we will hold them accountable for their actions, then send them home.  However, we then MUST hold those countries accountable.  If any more Syrians, Saudis, or whatever attack us, then we MUST take some substantial action.  Otherwise, we are just appeasing them, sacrificing our own citizens.

So are you saying that the US government is not handling properly this issue of the Guantanamo Prison then....