"enemy belligerent" ----scary stuff

[paperboy]

This man served our country and was a POW in Nam. What the He** is he thinking???

 

[theweakerbrother]

Chuck Baldwin... here's to you and your predictions of America.

 

[hornadylnl]

Sorry, but indefinitely detaining American citizens without trial is 1000 times worse than obamacare. I think I'm going to start buying stock in rail car manufactures because if this passes, that is exactly where we are headed. If the fact that McCain is proposing this doesn't wake you up to the idea that repubs and dens aren't on the same team, I don't know what will.

 

[dross]

What is your thought as to how it should be handled if after a battle it is discovered that among the enemy combatants is an American citizen who was fighting against American soldiers?

 

[hornadylnl]

The fear I have of that legislation is who can be determined to be an enemy beligerant. I'm sure some would believe tea partiers to be enemy beligerants. If the douche bags that are being tried in New York have the right to a trial, why not John Walker?

 

[Paco Bedejo]

What is your thought as to how it should be handled if after a battle it is discovered that among the enemy combatants is an American citizen who was fighting against American soldiers?

Uh...charge that citizen with a crime?

There is no good reason to indefinitely hold someone without charging them with a crime, regardless of their citizenship status. If you can't make a case against them in a week, then your reasons for holding them are pretty damned thin.

 

[mettle]

Uh...charge that citizen with a crime?

There is no good reason to indefinitely hold someone without charging them with a crime, regardless of their citizenship status. If you can't make a case against them in a week, then your reasons for holding them are pretty damned thin.

I think you are exactly on target with this post. Gitmo was a disaster b/c we/the world was lied to about it's purpose and the people be held there. They were held indefinitely, and would still be there if it were up to people like McCain.

If they are allowed to hold Forever, who is to say that we can't be labeled 'enemy belligerent' for domestic terrorism and be transported to the fabled 'FEMA' camps?

It all comes down to accountability; and, the Bush admin, along with people like McCain live in ignorance and refuse to do real homework and real investigation and perform real intel work. Couple this with a failing government to big to regulate itself and you get laziness and legislation like 'enemy belligerent' titles to provide 'BLANKET COVERAGE'


....it simply equals belligerence on the part of the .gov to do any real work.

 

[dross]

Uh...charge that citizen with a crime?

There is no good reason to indefinitely hold someone without charging them with a crime, regardless of their citizenship status. If you can't make a case against them in a week, then your reasons for holding them are pretty damned thin.

I think you are exactly on target with this post. Gitmo was a disaster b/c we/the world was lied to about it's purpose and the people be held there. They were held indefinitely, and would still be there if it were up to people like McCain.

If they are allowed to hold Forever, who is to say that we can't be labeled 'enemy belligerent' for domestic terrorism and be transported to the fabled 'FEMA' camps?

It all comes down to accountability; and, the Bush admin, along with people like McCain live in ignorance and refuse to do real homework and real investigation and perform real intel work. Couple this with a failing government to big to regulate itself and you get laziness and legislation like 'enemy belligerent' titles to provide 'BLANKET COVERAGE'


....it simply equals belligerence on the part of the .gov to do any real work.

We've always reserved the power to hold an enemy prisoner until the cessation of hostilities. Combatants not associated with a soverign power have less legal rights than POWs.

The problem you have with a civilian trial is that the military is not trained in police work. If they capture 100 people in a battle, there might not be a single witness who remembers that specific person. The legal standards for someone captured in a battle are lower, necessarily.

I don't like the broadness of the law being discussed, it looks very abusable to me. But some of the comments here go beyond this law and disagree with longstanding practice, and are even more lenient than the Geneva conventions.

 

[mrjarrell]

I am standing and I apologize

Do we need any further motivation to vote everyone out of the house? Clean sweep, send a message before its too late.

But how many of you will actively vote to depose a republican?

 

[mettle]

We've always reserved the power to hold an enemy prisoner until the cessation of hostilities. Combatants not associated with a soverign power have less legal rights than POWs.

The problem you have with a civilian trial is that the military is not trained in police work. If they capture 100 people in a battle, there might not be a single witness who remembers that specific person. The legal standards for someone captured in a battle are lower, necessarily.

I don't like the broadness of the law being discussed, it looks very abusable to me. But some of the comments here go beyond this law and disagree with longstanding practice, and are even more lenient than the Geneva conventions.

Good points. I think I did a poor job of responding; but, what I was trying to say, using Gitmo as a reference, is the broadness of this law (using your term) and how it can/could/WOULD be used as a blanket to cover all 'irritants' that the .gov may have with ANY people.

 

[Paco Bedejo]

The problem you have with a civilian trial is that the military is not trained in police work. If they capture 100 people in a battle, there might not be a single witness who remembers that specific person.

If soldiers capture 100 people in a real battle & have no idea where person #87 came from, I understand not releasing them back to the hostilities. But come on...we all know this law won't be limited to real battles.

Saying, "Yeah, I think he was in that crowd where a few shots came from." isn't an adequate reason to hold someone w/out trial, IMO. Either you can prove wrong-doing, or you should release them. It's pretty black & white. Even in the rare gray case, I'd rather err on the side of basic human rights.

 

[ghunter]

Yeah, there is a point where an unlawful combatant should be tried or released. Or, what if we quit taking these dirt bags prisoner? This is war after all. When we find them, let's just shoot them.

 

[Bigum1969]

I hate to say it, but you are never going to get exactly what you want in a candidate (at least not very often).

I mean, do you really think there are that many people who have your point of view? That agree with how you feel about so many things?

Politics is all about compromise. I think that is a hard pill for many to swallow. Do you really think a Libertarian candidate is going to win the presidency? Do you know how many people think Libertarians are nuts?

Sometimes the lesser of two evils is what you have to choose, given that the lesser is much closer to your thoughts/beliefs. Voting for a third party candidate, at this point in time, just ensures that the greater of evils gets elected. Congratulations, what have you accomplished?

We lean heavy to the right on this board. Or, maybe lean heavy to the Libertarian side. Or whatever. That is not surprising.

But, I literally interact with 100 people a week, and not one of them would ever go near INGO or fall in love with guns/shooting. So, what about these folks?

Anyhow, just thinking out loud.

 

[Panama]

If I had a "Magic Wand" I would wave that sucker and make every elected official and lobbyist in Washington D.C. (for starters) disappear, completely, GONE!

But until somebody finds that Magic Wand, we are stuck choosing the best person available to do the job, be they R's D's I's or L's.

It is the system we are forced to deal with, today.

 

[hornadylnl]

If I had a "Magic Wand" I would wave that sucker and make every elected official and lobbyist in Washington D.C. (for starters) disappear, completely, GONE!

But until somebody finds that Magic Wand, we are stuck choosing the best person available to do the job, be they R's D's I's or L's.

It is the system we are forced to deal with, today.

It's a game of charades and I'm done playing.

 

[Bigum1969]

If I had a "Magic Wand" I would wave that sucker and make every elected official and lobbyist in Washington D.C. (for starters) disappear, completely, GONE!

But until somebody finds that Magic Wand, we are stuck choosing the best person available to do the job, be they R's D's I's or L's.

It is the system we are forced to deal with, today.

 

[E5RANGER375]

This man served our country and was a POW in Nam. What the He** is he thinking???

exactly!!! I SALUTE John McCain the Veteran. But I turn my back in discust on John McCain the senator who discraces that office with this UN-CONSTITUTIONAL bill.

we need to hit them in the wallet guys and gals. its the only way. Americans are some greedy and un smart money managers and spenders. 80% of Americans probly live beyond their means and they still keep spending. boycot the businesses that have ANY ties to the same old politicians that are in office and write the business a letter to tell them why. if even 5% of us did that could you imagine the voice we would have and the audience we would get? it would be HUGE!!! plus we would have more money in our pockets too

OH and for the record since its election day: DONT vote for Dan Burton unless you want the same crap and a worthless congressman AGAIN. how are people so dumb to re-elect him year after year? i didnt even vote for him when i was on the Republican payroll, lol

 

[henktermaat]

I'm guessing most of those on here preaching that we needed to vote for McCain are also the same ones preaching the lesser of two evils strategy for our senate primary race now.

Even though McCain is an utter doofus, I'd still take less of an evil than more. The logic holds sound for me. Take any simple example. I'd rather get stabbed once, than twice, for instance.

 

[hornadylnl]

Even though McCain is an utter doofus, I'd still take less of an evil than more. The logic holds sound for me. Take any simple example. I'd rather get stabbed once, than twice, for instance.

Under our current system, it is inevitable that we are going to die (freedom lost). You can choose to die quickly or death by a thousand cuts. I personally believe that if things start happening more quickly, people might wake up. Right now, we're just frogs in a pot of water and nobody cares that they are turning up the heat slowly.

 

[henktermaat]

Under our current system, it is inevitable that we are going to die (freedom lost). You can choose to die quickly or death by a thousand cuts. I personally believe that if things start happening more quickly, people might wake up. Right now, we're just frogs in a pot of water and nobody cares that they are turning up the heat slowly.

Interesting opinion on the matter.

I hold a different opinion where I won't vote for the sure, fast "death." I'd rather live and fight and and see what happens than shoot myself in the head.