Reply to thread

Message

[QUOTE="dmorris68, post: 1103423, member: 40397"]
It isn't a civil operation, innocent until proven guilty does not apply.  Even in criminal cases, the accused are often locked up and denied bail until their trial.  The Constitution and due process do not apply to military operations and foreign combatants.  And while the Geneva Convention does, the difficulty in applying it here is that these are likewise not conventional soldiers fighting under the sovereignty of a nation state, much less a Geneva signatory.  They are uninvited terrorists and guerrilla fighters, without sanction from anyone.  It is quite unlike any combat operation the US military has ever fought.  The closest thing would be the Vietnam conflict -- another unpopular US operation.  Anytime we're involved in a fight with someone other than a "country," it gets uglier than the usual war.

Therefore many consider them in a limbo area between criminal and military combatant.  They are both, and they are neither, depending on who you ask.  Hence the reason they are still there and no legal or political means has changed things (at least until Obama's election).  And even Obama -- wisely so -- does not support opening the gates at Gitmo and letting everyone free.

It's easy for us to armchair quarterback things from the safety and comfort of our own homes.  Having been on the pointy end of combat operations, as no doubt some of you have, I know that it isn't as black and white as it seems to the folks back home.
[/QUOTE]

Verification

Search

Reply to thread

About CardsChat

Our Community

Our Site

Follow us