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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: AlienTech who wrote (17586)	1/30/2002 6:38:09 AM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 281500

The Taliban are soldiers, IMO, and probably most would agree. But the people at Gitmo are Al Qaeda. Big difference. They are not Taliban. Most are Arabs. Afghanis are not Arabs. The Afghanis would have our heads on toast if we mistreated their countrymen - or else they'd kill them themselves. We let the Afghanis take care of the Taliban.

To: AlienTech who wrote (17586)	1/30/2002 9:20:53 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

You are saying the Taleban were not soldiers because they ??? spit on others?? Let me guesss... English is not your lingua franca. And as CB mentioned, we're not discussing Taleban here, who are primarily Afghans and Pakistanis. We're discussing Al-Quaida, a group of international extremists who's sole raison d'etre is to wage Jihad against the west, and in particular against their non-combatants. The folks in Cuba are Al-Quaida. The folks in Mazar-I-Sharif are primarily Taleban prisoners. But I can almost certainly guarantee you that those "detainees" in Cuba are being far better treated than those former Taleban prisoners freezing in Afghan captivity. And even the al-qudea whatever has RIGHTS, they are trying to free their land? Why do they have rights? Who says they should have rights? What rights did THEY respect towards innocent US civilians? They have rights because WE, AS AMERICANS, believe that all human beings have inalienable rights (rights that cannot be taken away), bestowed upon them by God. And AT... I've not stated anywhere that I believe all resistance groups are terrorists by nature. I don't follow the Tamils, but from what I've heard, they seem to focus on fighting against the Sri Lankan military, which I find perfectly acceptable. And certainly atrocities have occurred on both sides, including the killing of innocent civilians, but I haven't heard of the Tamils openly targeting civilians as a matter of policy (and not just "collateral damage" from attacks against government officials and infrastructure). But even so, war is a brutal thing by its very nature. Those laws of war are only worth as much as they paper they are written upon, unless a nation is susceptible to being shamed by international pressure. I fully accept any people's right to resist occupation, and/or oppression. After all, the US came into being as the result of such a rebellion/revolution. But I believe their activities must not be focused upon targeting civilians as a matter of policy. In fact, the only reason I believe the attack on the Pentagon was "terrorism" is because it was caused through the use of a civilian airliner. It is a military target, as are all who work within it's walls. But the WTC attack was wanton terrorism, seeking to kill all of the 50,000 people who work within its walls. But it we really want to get down to it, the Laws of War are comparable to the rules for Boxing. Don't hit below the belt, use padded gloves and mouth protection... etc, etc. But this isn't "boxing" between nations, which will continue to survive, even in defeat. This is against Terrorism, which by its very nature, has no respect for international law. It's like an all-out brawl to the death, them or you (especially with regard to WMDs). I'm very much "in tune" with the Israeli approach. Fight terror by targeting and killing the leadership of such terrorist groups... and take the financial interest out of it (terrorism is very lucrative... ransoms, extorsion, narcotics... etc). And btw, What country is Al-Qaida trying "to free", and who are they trying to free it from?? And is it freedom they are fighting for, or merely replacing one form of tyranny with another?? Hawk