CIA in Double Jeopardy

New York Times ^ | 08/31/2009 | Joseph FInder

[fiscon1]

EARLY in 2002, Eric Holder, then a former deputy attorney general, said on CNN that the detainees being held at Guantánamo Bay were “not, in fact, people entitled to the protection of the Geneva Convention,” particularly “given the way in which they have conducted themselves.”

Six years later, declaring

[SoftwareEngineer]

Great article by a great novelist. I own and have read all his works.

While he is by no means a Republican (by reading his books I get the feeling he is one of the guys that is VERY conservative on national security but maybe not so much on other issues), Mr. Finder writes FINE books that I happy to recommend to everyone on this forum

I can always respect someone, even if I disagree with them, if they talk logically.

A good example of this is Rush Limbaugh. Take away the humor (which people sometimes mistake for seriousness) and in Limbaugh you find someone who is very logically organized. Thus, whenever I do end up disagreeing with Limbaugh (and that is rare) I always respect at the very least the cogent and logical arguments.

Same applies here to Mr. Finder. Good Job!

[fiscon1]

isn’t supposed to warrant a bump to the top?

[mbynack]

Holder was right when he said the people at Gitmo aren't entitled to coverage under the Geneva Convention. In order to be legally covered, you have to be a uniformed soldier representing a country that signed the convention. Al Queda isn't a country and doesn't represent one and the terrorists don't wear uniforms.

More civilized countries tend to grant Geneva Convention status to enemy combatents from non-signing countries if the enemy abides by the conventions themselves. In this case they don't. They target civilians, don't wear uniforms, and don't represent a country.

[fiscon1]

That’s correct. Geneva was supposed to be a two way street. It was supposed to protect soldiers from cruel treatment if they were captured, but it was also supposed lay out proper conduct for battle. That’s not what Al Qaeda has engaged in and such they don’t deserve treatment under Geneva.

[Howie]