November 2, 2005

Detainee Policy Sharply Divides Bush Officials - New York Times

The treatment and interrogation of suspected terrorists who have been captured is a fascinating look into the values that underlie the policies of the Bush administration and the opponents. My take on this is that we are fighting an unconventional war on terror and the methods used have no basis in the Geneva Conventions enacted in a former time under conditions that prisoners were from a city-state and warfare had more humane rules.

Terrorist do not operate under any rules or conventions. They intend to destroy our society and our country using any means. While I respect Senator McCain and his legacy as a Vietnam prisoner of war, I side with the present Bush policy.

"Advocates of that approach, who include some Defense and State Department officials and senior military lawyers, contend that moving the military's detention policies closer to international law would prevent further abuses and build support overseas for the fight against Islamic extremists, officials said.

Their opponents, who include aides to Vice President Dick Cheney and some senior Pentagon officials, have argued strongly that the proposed language is vague, would tie the government's hands in combating terrorists and still would not satisfy America's critics, officials said."

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