Guantanamo Bay

Due to a recent Facebook Chat conversation, I thought I would record some thoughts, in a return to a more political nature of this blog.

Guantanamo Bay. President Obama is attempting to close it. The men imprisoned there are accused of heinous crimes. They have been held there and subjected to enhanced interrogation.

What makes a "terrorist" different from you and me? They are people. Being people, they have rights to life, liberty, and property. Two of these have been denied them for who knows how long. They are not given a trial, and they have not been treated as the Geneva Conventions allow. Why? Because we have said that they are "terrorists", and therefore are scum.

However heinous their crimes, all men should be given a fair trial. This is why John Adams defended the British Regulars who were accused of manslaughter in the "Boston Massacre." The opinion of the public does not change the fact that they are people, and deserve that right. If they are found guilty, then let them be punished accordingly. If they are found not guilty, then let them go free. Not giving them a trial is unjust.

Let us imagine for a second that the tables are turned. Instead of the United States occupying Iraq and Afghanistan, the opposite is true. They are occupying us. Would we resist, even if they were here trying to give us "Democracy"? I certainly would. For resistance, I would be labeled a terrorist by the United States of Iraq. I would then be imprisoned without trial under questionable circumstances. I could be subjected to "enhanced interrogation". Would I find it to be pleasant? I doubt it. Would I define it as torture? Probably.

Even though the above is not the case, it certainly questions the Christianness of our actions. The Golden Rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is exactly the opposite of what we are doing in these countries. No matter how noble the cause, the end does not justify the means. We must not be led to believe that our safety and security, and the future "democracy" of Afghanistan are worth the loss of a military that has been historically the kindest conqueror ever.