Posted on 01/12/2006 9:48:27 PM PST by Lorianne
A matter of some dispute, obviously. The point causes me to wonder, however, how many of the detainees in Gitmo are Afghanis? I would wager they are very few. And the Arabs -- regardless of their country of origin -- would certainly not qualify as indigenous "militia".
BTW- this is no normal war. Since the fighting probably will take more than a lifespan most of the prisoners are facing a life sentence now. My personal opinion is, that the existence of this new kind of war with a new kind of "fighters" needs a new legal foundation.
Agree completely with your assertion that this war could well last a lifetime. And I'm not troubled by that translating to a life sentence for the detainees. Not a bit. I begrudge the expense, but I wouldn't have them put to death out of convenience, either.
And, yes, you are probably right about some kind of new "legal foundation" in view of this new kind of warfare. The Geneva Convention didn't really anticipate this kind of conflict.
But I would despair of trying to accommodate "world opinion" at this point. Right now, the "international system" is broken, the UN a total farce. If getting the German population behind the appropriate policies would require al-Qaeda killing several thousand innocent Germans, well, I wouldn't wish that on anybody.
Merkel was playing for the home team...speaking to Germany, standard practice for officials visiting from other countries. She knew perfectly well that Bush wouldn't shut down Gitmo, but had to look as if she wasn't coming cap in hand. At some point we'll have to stop treating terrorists as if they tried to rob the corner Quickie-mart. This isn't a criminal matter, it's warfare, pure and simple.
Oh, dear, you're whistling past the graveyard. Muslims are breeding like rabbits in the EU, with inevitable consequences.
As for the Brits, it's said they're offering 3K pounds apiece for every immigrant who leaves. It seems they've figured out what happens when the locals are outnumbered and then outvoted by Muslim homicidal maniacs.
Uuuuuaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! I am dying.
All this "Eurabia" propaganda is BS. It is correct that we have a problem with young muslims in our country since they are usually undereducated and unemployed. This is the reason why they get aggressive - just as some minorities in the US (do you remember the Los Angeles riots in 1992?). But there is one thing for sure: They will not take over the power here. Most Turks in Germany are assimilated, peaceful and decent people. I employ some in my own business and I know what I am talking about. The much more fanatic Islamiacs come usually from northern Africa or Pakistan. Their part in our German populace is nearly zero. That does not mean that we have to ignore the problem but we should get the right dimensions.
Even in France or in the UK where the problems with muslims are much more severe there is no sign that they would ever have the chance to take over the power.
You Americans have the same problem we have in Europe: Not every proposition in the media is the truth.
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