[ProudGOP]

And so I think Merkel was spot-on whe she said that finding and defining international standard procedures is something that needs to be discussed.

I agree but after the way the Euro press has gone after us regarding Gitmo, any criticism of it needs to be handled very carefully.

I think that the Euros need to acknowledge the fact that we need some place to keep unlawful combatants and that these combatants do not benefit from all of the rights a European or American citizen would because they have been breaking the rules of war.

I think the US needs to acknowledge that there needs to be some sort of oversite to make sure that innocents are not punished.

All in all, a very tricky situation.

[wolf78]

"I agree but after the way the Euro press has gone after us regarding Gitmo, any criticism of it needs to be handled very carefully."

That was nasty. After all, if you read some more of the interview, Gitmo was just a by-line, a side remark out of context. I also recommend Ray's (of David's Medienkritik fame) comment on the whole thing:

http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/2006/01/merkel_criticiz.html

The thing is: That is one issue that really needs to be discussed - but better behind closed doors.

"I think that the Euros need to acknowledge the fact that we need some place to keep unlawful combatants and that these combatants do not benefit from all of the rights a European or American citizen would because they have been breaking the rules of war."

Indeed, but all the more reasons to have some definitive rules for such situations. As soon as people realize, that traffic offenders from New York or Berlin won't be deported to Gitmo, that such an institution is only temporary under very special circumstances (and that's basically what Merkel said in the interview: Gitmos is not an ideal long-term-solution) and that it's for the really bad guys only, the whole fuss will calm down over time.

"I think the US needs to acknowledge that there needs to be some sort of oversite to make sure that innocents are not punished.

All in all, a very tricky situation."

Indeed. And all the more reason to be glad to see such simplistic fools like Gerhard Schroeder or Joschka Fischer out of office.