"Gitmo" did not have to be invented. It is a prisoner of war camp - partially, and a holding place for spies. When the war is over, it will be closed.
In WWII half of those in that camp would have been shot as spies - by any side in the war. I'm of the opinion that that would be a good idea in this case as well. Now that we have them - what do we do with them?
If I were you I would leave discussion of "legality of detention camps" alone. It is not Germany's strong suit.
As far as your reading of the Patriot Act, please enlighten us - exactly how has it "neutralized our legal system"?
The WOT is not the personal property of President Bush. It is the policy of the US. Your comments reveal you a victim of the media.
You and your German Compatriots should treat this as input. We are not the ones releasing murdering terrorists - you are. We are asking for your help. You are releasing murderers of US servicemen.
We see your actions as weak, and not supportive. We understand your policy is to let murderers with life sentences free after 1/5th of a life sentence. I am saying we don't appreciate it, and it is a bad policy - especially in this case.
Look at your post - Gitmo, Patriot Act, Bush's WOT - leftist song sheet - if I were reading this - whose side would I think you are on? How - exactly - are you supporting the US?
We don't want you to be a banana republic. We want your help.
I haven't invented the wheel. Please allow me some questions:
Why is it nessecary then to erect it outside the federal territory of the US? During WWII i.e. it was absolutely no problem to the US to keep German POWs on American territory.
As far as your reading of the Patriot Act, please enlighten us - exactly how has it "neutralized our legal system"?
Sorry for my imprecise expression. The patriot act of course did not neutralized your legal system completely. But for sure it limited some of the rights of your people and of your offenders.
The WOT is not the personal property of President Bush. It is the policy of the US. Your comments reveal you a victim of the media.
Sometimes I am simply too fast with words. You are perfectly right. It is of course the policy of the US and not only of a single person.
We see your actions as weak, and not supportive.
Personally I share this view although not in this case. It is for sure that such a economically strong country like Germany could and should do much more - in Iraq or elsewhere. The problem is that Germans do not have any problem with those issues. No matter where you go on the old continent you will find that most people are influenced by the mainstream media and they fear President Bush more than Bin Laden. There are some informed and reasonable politicians left and they help if they can, but in a democracy you have to follow the majority. This is what happens to Merkel in the moment. If she would help the US with i.e. troops in Iraq she would loose her power the next day.
We need time to solve those problems and time to get rid of those elements in our administrations that block any friendly action towards America. It will not be that easy but there is hope.
BTW - the Hamadi release was for sure not initiated by Merkel. As I said - this was a legal routine.
Maybe you understand a littlebit better this Hamadi-BS from the European point of view if you take the Austrian (not German!) reaction to the execution of "Tookie" Williams:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1545213/posts
The thing is that the relation between Europe and America needs a new fondation. We have to define common values and interests. We have to work for it. Otherwise we will loose each other in the long term. Each side knows that the other side is not "Irrelevant". No matter what angry people may say. Since I am a real friend of the US I will do everything to stop this development. But people like me need some backing.