Stoopid Stuff

Our Shame

So three of the desparate, hopeless "lost souls" held at Guantanamo Bay concentration camp finally found a way out. Probably the only escape that will ever be available to them. The military is investigating multiple war crimes, murders and massacres by American troops in Iraq. The Council of Europe issued a report describing the secret prison network and "Extrordinary Rendition" program of the American CIA. Makes an American's chest just swell with pride, doesn't it?

How can anyone believe that the best way to counter the threat of Terrorism against America is to emulate the worst aspects of the worst totalitarian regimes in recent history? In Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia and Saddam's Iraq, they held their enemies in concentration camps run by the military. They routinely tortured and killed people they deemed a threat, not just in a misguided attempt to elicit information but also to intimidate the population. Military units regularly killed, tortured and raped civilians under their control. And oh yeah, these governments knew no compunction in monitoring the actions of their citizens through all manner of legal and extra-legal surveillance.

Guantanamo in particular offends me. The obvious, blatent manipulation evident in the fact that they put the concentration camp outside the borders of the US, so they could determine what statutes they would choose to apply. The tragic fact that we KNOW that most of the "detainees" at Gitmo are completely innocent, mere peasants or shopkeepers in Afghanistan, turned in over old rivalries or reward money. And America is in a bad position--If these detainees are charged, they can testify in court to their treatment in detention, including not just torture, but cruel and inhumane treatment. If they are released, they can give the same information to the press.

We have said that as "terrorists" (whatever that means in this context) are "illegal combatants" and not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Convention, US or International Law. It is only a matter of time before some of our soldiers are captured, and subjected to torture and cruel treatment. And we will squeal in outrage, and the world will call us on our hypocrisy. We have yielded the so-called moral high ground, in the name of our most dark and primeval fear and hatred.

It is sad to see what these evil men have done to my beloved country. They have taken America from an example to all, from the "shining city on the hill" to the depths of an authoritarian government, ruling with an iron fist, existing only to perpetuate their power and the wealth of their supporters, sacrificing our future for the excesses of the present. It will take much longer to undo the damage than it has taken to cause it. For decades, America will be equated with the worst that men can do, invading and occupying sovereign nations, killing, torturing, imprisoning, employing the military as a preferred option rather than a last resort, human rights and civil liberties sacrificed on the altar of power and wealth. Other nations and their peoples may fear America, but their respect and trust will have to be earned back.

posted by mikey @ 2:31 PM