Comments on: Obama Terrorist Detention Policy: Same As The Bush Policy

By: jfrankparnell

jfrankparnell — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:01:03 +0000

Update: I’ve been advised that the phrase “Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom” referenced in my previous post was in fact not coined by Ronald Reagan (Peace Be Upon Him) as I had been led to believe, but by the noted Leftist Foreigner Mao Zedong. My apologies.

By: jfrankparnell

jfrankparnell — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:44:37 +0000

I’m kind of disappointed in this essay, not because of what it says but because of what it does not say. I believe it would be far more effective if it were to build upon the author’s previous essay and begin to redefine (actually, undefine) a few more of the outdated concepts the Left immaturely clings to. A real effort to make such whimsical ideas as “due process” and “evidence” less acceptable means greater acceptance for our ideas, and therefore greater safety for citizens, and our troops. Throw in a stiff-arm to the ludicrous idea of “blowback” (which is unmeasurable anyway) and there’s no reason we can’t, say, double the population of detainees who may commit future crimes. “Let a Thousand Gitmos Bloom!”

By: sinz54

sinz54 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:34:51 +0000

Lost in all these debates about treatment of detainees, is what the main goal was--and should still be.

The purpose of putting the detainees in detention was not to hold them for eventual punishment. It was just to take them out of circulation, so they couldn't commit terrorist acts anymore. In that sense, what we were doing resembled a POW camp, except that the prisoners were not part of a recognized foreign army.

I once asked some liberals how they would feel if Osama bin Laden, once caught, got himself a smart lawyer who got him acquitted on grounds of tainted evidence. They said they would have no problem with that.

I said that in that case, the CIA should have Osama bin Laden assassinated the moment he walks outside that courtroom.

That, in a nutshell, is what separates the Left from the Right on matters of internal security: We right-wingers take it seriously. It's a game we play to win.