tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post2815024389928763448..comments2024-01-22T18:22:29.391-08:00Comments on hedera's corner: Civil Liberties and the GWOThederahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01696592301686568456noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post-19849880902179493932007-09-25T09:33:00.000-07:002007-09-25T09:33:00.000-07:00Curtis, your "bottom line" is spot on. The issue ...Curtis, your "bottom line" is spot on. The issue <I>The Economist</I> was raising, however, doesn't related to battlefield techniques. The battlefield is not a regulated place, and never will be: if we can get people on the battlefield to remember that the Geneva Conventions exist, that's as good as we can expect.<BR/><BR/>The issue is the erosion of civil liberties against the U.S. (and the U.K.) <I>civilian</I> population, in the name of "security". I'll repeat this again: there is no security against a man who is willing to die in order to kill you. Also, <I>Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety</I>, whether Benjamin Franklin actually said that or merely repeated it.hederahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01696592301686568456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20417751.post-65988921872817767532007-09-24T18:52:00.000-07:002007-09-24T18:52:00.000-07:00I think the distinction is more complex than that....I think the distinction is more complex than that. <BR/><BR/>In time of war, many things are done on the battlefield. The Ken Burns WWII documentary--currently running this week on PBS--illustrates with many examples what warring nations (and armies) do to each other in the name of victory, and the expedient of winning. <BR/><BR/>There's no question, however, of our using "interrogation techniques" on the prisoners in Cuba--whatever they've been going to tell us wouldn't have much value now, years after the fact. Best either to try them as criminals, or export them back to their native countries. Holding them longer seems a completely stupid waste of time and resources. They wouldn't have known--in any case--what their bosses were planning months and years down the road. The whole Guantanamo thing was bungled. <BR/><BR/>Bottom line: Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you. If you torture their guys, they'll torture yours. Tit for tat. Not an equation we want to keep using in international affairs.Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.com