Posted on 01/12/2006 9:48:27 PM PST by Lorianne
Good morning, Madame Chancellor. Here you are, Germany's Angela Merkel, on your first trip to Washington, D.C., preparing for your meeting with President Bush. As you look out of your Blair House window over Lafayette Square toward the White House, consider the historicity of the era: the beginning of Mr. Bush's sixth year leading his country, and the beginning of your first year leading your country in the so-called war on terror. Or is that the war on Guantanamo Bay? I get them confused.
That's because in just about every account of your American trip -- biggish news in Europe -- it is prominently mentioned that Guantanamo Bay is prominently high on your list of, well, prominent concerns. Trouble spots. Global things you lose sleep over.
This is, with due respect, bizarre. Iran is going nuclear, Europe is going Islamic, Russia is going off the reservation, China is a fearsome thing, and your big concern is sending what is called a "clear message" to Mr. Bush about Guantanamo Bay, the tropical jail where the United States keeps jihadis on ice -- and keeps the rest of the world safer as a result. But that's not what you say. "An institution like Guantanamo can and should not exist in the longer term," you told the German news magazine Der Spiegel this week. "Different ways and means must be found for dealing with these prisoners."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Agreed. They all need to go meet Allah in Hell.
In a way Guantanamo saves them from the real mental incarceration hell of Mullahs. Liberals find "other institutions", especialy the mental type ones like Islam where you go there voluntarily to sell your soul, as better.
Germany is home to mental institutes and "voluntary declaration of insanity". It's a scary thing when Merckel mentions the word "other institutions".
Yeah, German have a vast knowledge on treatment of detainees...
But we don't murder them on an industrial scale!
The above photo was taken by my late Father while with the 36th Infantry Division during their drive into Bavaria. The division overran some of the Kaufering subcamps of the Dachau concentration camp on April 30, 1945.
Encase them in "carbonite".
Yeah with a recession in Germany, the incompetance of the EU, Iran building nuclear weapons and other problems, I'm sure she's losing tons of sleep over terrorist prisoners.
Okay.....before last Sunday, when our Minister used "historicity" in his sermon, I had never heard the word.....and NOW this is the THIRD time this week!!!
Well, I had some faint hope that things might be just a little bit better with Merkel. Now all I feel is utter contempt.
I find it quite insulting for those poor nazi-victims when you compare them with those primitive terrorists in Gitmo. It is probably a certain form of primitive political auto-erotic to publish photos like this when some coevals obviously run out of relevant arguments. Shame on you!
Many people in the US are boiling in anger because of Schroeders refusal to take part in the Iraq war. Therefore they react extremly aggressive on everthing German no matter if it is pro-US or not. The Gitmo-discussion is that important on our side of the Atlantic because a majority of Europeans do not share the will to deal with their prisoners the way the US are doing. This is a simple fact. Until recently we shared the same position concerning human rights with the US. It was easy to be in line with you then. After 9/11 this platform was definitly lost. Merkel as a elected leader of 80.000.000 Europeans has the duty to tell Pres. Bush that something fundamental had changed in our relationship. Doesn't she? Of course they also could drink some coffee together and talk politely about the weather...
Let me say that much: Merkel is serving Germany. I am convinced that she is doing that with all of her heart. Of course she does not serve America or anybody else. We can help each other the best way on those issues were our interests and values are operlapping. Therefore the discussion with Germany about Gitmo is nessecary if America wants to have a bigger contribution to its global war on terror from us than recently.
I think you have inadvertently put your finger on it. You refer to it as America's war on terrorism. Do we need to remind you that London and Madrid have also been victims of terrorist attacks? Do we need to remind you that many of 9/11 terrorists hatched their plans in Hamburg, Germany? Or that none of their accomplices have been convicted in German courts for conspiracy?
Europe treats the war on terrorism as an overreaction by Americans and that fighting Islamofascists is a police matter. One must only react to terrorist acts after the fact--that is the European approach. Since you do not believe it is a war, you cannot accept the need for a Guantanamo. We believe this is a war on Western Civilization. If Europe is happy to sink into dhimmitude, so be it.
Sadly, Merkel knows not of what she speaks. These were not people randomly rounded up. They were caught fighting us in Afghanistan. Many of those already released from Guantanamo have been recaptured fighting us again. You go your way and we will go ours.
I am reminded of the words of Samuel Adams, an American patriot at the time of our Revolutionary War (where like today Germans fought on both sides),
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
That is Europe's choice, good luck and good riddance.
Lock and load....
I understand the necessity of Gitmo. America has to deal with 3000 killed compatriots. It is quite logical to me that you are and will stay in anger about OBL and his scum. There was no other opportunity than to react hard. Nevertheless I believe that the US have to change the status of Gitmo into a international accepted prison. Therefore Merkel is absolutely right, that it has to be transformed into something better or must be closed after a transit time. America needs something with a flawless legal foundation. The inmates need trials and their human rights have to be respected even if the punishment is hard. Innocent people have to go free. Period. Furthermore I am convinced that the administration of Pres. Bush will also move into this direction since this step is just in the well understood self interest of the US.
The west (not only the US) needs something like a security imprisonment that can be imposed by a judge (!) if one of the prisoners is obviously a public danger. Such a law must be temporarly controlled. The prisoner must have the chance of revision in short intervals.
BTW - To answer your quote of Samuel Adams: We Europeans are not your countrymen. Furthermore nobody in Europe is crouching down before Islamisn or licks the hand of Osama Bin Laden. We do not sell our freedom for wealth either. The point is that many of us have another view on legal issues than some Americans have. It is absolutely true that a large part of the European public haven't understood that they also have to deal with terrorist scum.
Like my m-i-l used to say, " I said my name was Tucker, not sucker!"
FYI..you might find this of interest..regards
I read it on the Washtimes website, and I was not amused. There´s a wrong indication that Osthoff was released for Hammadi, which is obviously (!!) not true. I can imagine that 5 million $ were paid as ransom money, and that´s a point I´m angry for. We should never ever pay terrorists for not killing our citizens. We should warn them, and if do it anyway, hunt them like the Israelis did after Munich.
We Europeans are not your countrymen.
To that I say, so true and thank God.
Furthermore nobody in Europe is crouching down before Islamisn or licks the hand of Osama Bin Laden.
Oh really? I'd say about 10% of your population does.
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