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

To: aladin who wrote (114936)	9/15/2003 5:45:42 PM
From: Jacob Snyder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Al Queda never signed the Geneva Conventions. But Afghanistan did. And you can't weasel out of it, by saying the Taliban didn't sign it. As the Treaty clearly says, it doesn't need to be re-signed by each new government, to stay in force. And the treaty also clearly says, it makes no difference, that the U.S. didn't "recognize" the Taliban. I could argue the legality, and the difference between: 1) not signing a treaty (Al Queda), and 2) signing and then ignoring a treaty (the U.S.). But, again: Power never takes a back step - only in the face of more power. Malcolm X The Geneva Conventions were not signed and (sometimes) followed, out of altruism. These rules came about, to stop the mutual retaliation cycles against prisoners. Our enemies don't now hold American prisoners. But this is going to be a long, long war. We won't be the only ones taking prisoners. It is in our interest, not to set a bad example, not to flout the rules, not to mistreat prisoners. This is not altruism or idealism. This is self-interest. It is still in our interest to treat prisoners well, and not kill civilians, even if our enemy does. Look at how the U.S. civilian population responded after 9/11. A burst of anger, and solidarity, and a grim determination to strike back. That's exactly how Arabs respond, when we display photoes of Saddam's dead sons, and shoot Iraqis who don't follow orders shouted in English at roadblocks. Because of our mis-treatment of civilians, prisoners, and the dead, we create the same anger against us, that Americans felt toward Them after 9/11.