DGS49
Diamond Member
BREAKING: Judge Sets Trial Date For 5 Men Who Masterminded 9/11
Sanity has caved in to public ignorance and anti-Americanism.
The whole POINT of the existence of GITMO is that there is a difference between being a POW and being a criminal. When you are a CRIMINAL, you are there because of something you DID. It was presumably a crime, which has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, according to longstanding principles of evidence, procedure, rights-of-the-accused, and so on.
When you are a POW, you are there because of what you ARE, and not something that you did. A captured enemy soldier may have been a mess helper before captured - never fired a shot - but the confinement is still legitimate, and lasts as long as the hostilities last. When the war is "over," POW's are released.
It is important not to get the two confused (as has been done here). The circumstances of capture of a POW are such that there may be no opportunity to gather evidence according to the niceties of our Fourth Amendment. When properly done, the capture itself almost never meets with the normal protocols of criminal law, and the accused has no rights other than what is laid out in the various Geneva Conventions. The capturing entity rarely has legal jurisdiction in the place where the person is apprehended.
The final chapter of being a POW is either natural death in prison, release at the cessation of hostilities, or a war-crimes trial (not appropriate here because there is no declared war and no "country" involved). If we maintain that the hostilities are ongoing, and that the POW's are a continuing threat, they should be retained. If not, they should be released. This trial will be a ridiculous affair, with huge propaganda opportunities for both our international enemies and (you guessed it), and Leftists within our own society to castigate the Government, the military services, and the process that leads to the trial. They have already indicated that they will bring a cornucopia of objections to everything, based on U.S. criminal process, procedures, and the rights of the accused under U.S. law - which is preposterous.
Seriously, it would be better overall if the bastards were simply released and monitored. I blame Trump's advisors for not cluing him in on this whole scenario and preventing this from happening. It will be a giant circus, embarrassing to everyone including the people of the United States.
Sanity has caved in to public ignorance and anti-Americanism.
The whole POINT of the existence of GITMO is that there is a difference between being a POW and being a criminal. When you are a CRIMINAL, you are there because of something you DID. It was presumably a crime, which has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, according to longstanding principles of evidence, procedure, rights-of-the-accused, and so on.
When you are a POW, you are there because of what you ARE, and not something that you did. A captured enemy soldier may have been a mess helper before captured - never fired a shot - but the confinement is still legitimate, and lasts as long as the hostilities last. When the war is "over," POW's are released.
It is important not to get the two confused (as has been done here). The circumstances of capture of a POW are such that there may be no opportunity to gather evidence according to the niceties of our Fourth Amendment. When properly done, the capture itself almost never meets with the normal protocols of criminal law, and the accused has no rights other than what is laid out in the various Geneva Conventions. The capturing entity rarely has legal jurisdiction in the place where the person is apprehended.
The final chapter of being a POW is either natural death in prison, release at the cessation of hostilities, or a war-crimes trial (not appropriate here because there is no declared war and no "country" involved). If we maintain that the hostilities are ongoing, and that the POW's are a continuing threat, they should be retained. If not, they should be released. This trial will be a ridiculous affair, with huge propaganda opportunities for both our international enemies and (you guessed it), and Leftists within our own society to castigate the Government, the military services, and the process that leads to the trial. They have already indicated that they will bring a cornucopia of objections to everything, based on U.S. criminal process, procedures, and the rights of the accused under U.S. law - which is preposterous.
Seriously, it would be better overall if the bastards were simply released and monitored. I blame Trump's advisors for not cluing him in on this whole scenario and preventing this from happening. It will be a giant circus, embarrassing to everyone including the people of the United States.
