WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US House of Representatives passed a controversial bill concerning the treatment of detainees held in the US "war on terror," which has been denounced by human rights and constitutional law experts.
The bill, was passed in a 253-168 vote.
The sweeping legislation sets guidelines to interrogate war-on-terror suspects and would send several hundred inmates held at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to trial after years of detention.
More here.
Well here I go. I have mixed feelings on this issue and pre 9/11 I would probably be ranting and raving and throwing a fit over this, but times change and so have I.
See, on 9/11 I woke up and I got angry, in fact, downright infuriated. Not at our government, because they didn't hijack the planes and kill all those innocent people, but at the audacity of the action itself.
I was as guilty as the previous administration of basically ignoring and discounting all the warnings and attacks that had happened in the earlier years. 9/11 changed all that. I got upset, then I got mad, very very mad. I was ready to level any country that dared protect al-qaeda, I was ready to go fight myself. Had I been young enough, I would have joined the military right then and there.
Eventually I calmed down enough to realize that leveling whole countries wasn't the answer, but neither was turning the other cheek, ignoring the obvious truths, going back to sleep. We had to act, and we had to be strong, firmly committed to doing what needed to be done, no matter how unpleasant or unpopular it was.
That is when I became a Bush supporter. I hadn't voted for him, but after 9/11 I was damned glad he was our president. The man went on the offensive, he went after them and he hasn't quit.
I do not think every single decision Bush made was correct, but I back them because he IS our president and he is doing what he thinks is right to protect this country.
Now we have the detainee bill, again, it is one that won't be popular and people are out there criticizing it.
I won't criticize it, because if ONE life is saved by information the CIA attains from a terrorist, then it is the right thing to do. If one major attack is avoided, it is the right thing to do.
I also do not believe it is "torture" that is being used. Harsh tactics, yes, I will give you that. Not torture.
We are in a war, it is a harsh war and these are not "soldiers" we are fighting, these are not men and women that are defending their country..... These are cold blooded killers that, in some cases, have information that will save innocent lives. These are people that will cut off our heads, drill into our bodies, JUST to torture and mutilate, before killing us. These are people that will strap bomb to their bodies and blow themselves up, JUST to kill as many of our soldiers and civilians as they can. These are not people, these are monsters and if we have to be "harsh" with them.... So be it.
Wake up, this is war.
