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December 27, 2006
End The Geneva Conventions. Now.
*Update Does this idea work? It seems to in Somalia
After much thought, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the follow up Protocols of 1977 have essentially become the military version of the Kyoto Protocols and need to be disbanded. The Conventions are noble in essence but become useless when the other side refuses to abide by them and seem unintentionally, or intentionally depending on your view of world hostility towards the United States, designed to restrict those countries most likely to adhere to them. In that regard, they share the same characteristics of the Kyoto Protocols, which restrict growth among economically successful countries while allowing 3rd world ones to pollute with impunity.
The enemy we face, radical Islam, is beyond even the 3rd world when it comes to its barbarity. It advocates an 11th century mentality complete with its abject subjugation of women and women’s rights and a system of laws straight out of the medieval world. Death to infidels is not a bumper sticker mantra to them, but a way of life. What hamstrings the United States is the fact that not only do followers of Islam not recognize the Geneva Conventions; they are media savvy enough to use the fact that we do, against us. The have become masters of propaganda not so much from a competence in that arena, but because they have a sympathetic audience in those who report the news.
The results are that we have to take overbearing precautions in how we fight, to the detriment of our forces, creating multiple problems on the ground and all the way up the chain of command. When a soldier is more concerned about how his action is going to look or be reported than on just completing the mission regardless of the consequences, mistakes are and will continue to be, made. Not due to incompetence, mind you, but to distraction. It seems anathema to civilized society to advocate mirroring the tactics of our enemy, but there is a very compelling reason to do so in this fight we face. The enemy we face understands completely the unchecked use of force and will get the message sent were we to level a couple of city blocks in our pursuit of justice, especially if we took out hundreds to find and eliminate 1 person.
The media would excoriate us as usual, but what else is new. They do so already and for much less extreme behavior. We must fight fire with fire and do so without the anchor around our neck that the Geneva Conventions have become. I don’t say this lightly. As a former soldier (9 years, US Army), I would have benefited from the Geneva Conventions, theoretically. I have no illusions, however, about what would happen to me in the care of our Islamic enemies had I been captured today. The last thing I would most likely hear would be the chants of Allahu Akbar and the sound of a sword coming out of its scabbard.
It’s time to end the restrictions and take off the hand cuffs.
Posted by Jonathan at December 27, 2006 9:02 PM
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Comments
UNBELIEVABLE ... ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE...
And you call yourself a religious person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kill, maim and torture by Americans now...wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
You are obscene in your lack on real religious content in your mind. Is this what the Mormons preach now is it? Be as barbarous as they are... Is this the teachings of Christ? " completing the mission regardless of the consequences" is a mentality akin to giving up all morality. It is the same thing as Machiavelli Nazi morality and the same thing as the radical Islamists. You want to accept and embrace that kind of mentality in the name of Christianity. How ashamed you should be. It is this kind of dictatorial morality that apparently inpires the right wing in this country, but it is also clearly depraved and wrong at every moral level.
Posted by: ski at December 28, 2006 10:05 AM
You're making a couple of huge assumptions, ski. One, that I'm Mormon. I'm not and have never claimed to be. Two, that I want to make these changes in the name of Christianity. I don't. I haven't stepped foot in a church since I was about 15 years old and have never claimed to speak on their behalf.
What I don't want is to be forced to convert to Islam by the sword and if I have to fight back in ways that they understand then I will do so. I don't particularly care about your outrage. When they come to your door, I'm sure you will bend to the will of Allah because you're all talk and no substance.
Christianity's tolerance has been and will continue to be taken advantage of by Radical Islam to it's detriment.
Posted by: Jonathan at December 28, 2006 7:55 PM
Well spoken Jonathan. What Ski and his ilk don't understand is the fact that our enemy, radical Islam, does not give a tinker's damn whether we are black, white, conservative, liberal, religious, atheistic. Their only goal is the complete destruction of western society and all that we stand for. He and his type will be incredibly surprised when they discover that it is *their* door that is among the first to be beaten down. So Ski, go right ahead with your meningless ranting.
Posted by: Guy at December 29, 2006 6:32 AM