Comments on: Justice delayed, justice denied

By: Paul Brinkley

Paul Brinkley — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 00:17:52 +0000

While I’m all for not giving in to fear, I’m also for not giving in to naivete. And the truth is, I don’t know enough about the people still being detained to know where they should fall on the spectrum between “completely innocent civilian unjustly held” and “terrorist who really was planning to set off a bomb when we caught him, but we don’t have court-admissible proof”. I’ve heard of examples of both.

I find it intellectually dishonest to claim that anyone falling into the latter category is being held out of “fear of terrorists”. May I please hold this person until I know more? Please? Yes, I respect innocence until guilt is proven. But friends of this guy killed 3000 people that were also innocent. May I please factor that in?

By: Meredith

Meredith — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 18:21:35 +0000

Ummmm, I thought the whole point of this administration’s many speeches after 9/11 was that we, as a country, were not going to “let the terrorists win” by giving into fear and changing the fundamental rights and values that America stands for.

This detainment stuff is BS, it’s unacceptable, and we should be ashamed because we are “letting the terrorists win,” and I think it’s really intellectually dishonest to suggest otherwise. (ahem . . . Dos). And, by the way, the use of the words and phrases “mushroom cloud” and “this is not a conventional war” are more hackilicious than anything Justin has EVER said.

By: JP

JP — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 12:33:47 +0000

Unbelievable. Dos, I am somewhat embarrassed by the handling of the 141 uncharged people–a month or two MIGHT be acceptable, but holding them for year(s) without charge is unacceptable.

Honestly, the only reason people don’t become more outraged by this is because of the false assumption that “9/11 changed everything.” 9/11 didn’t change ANYTHING–it was a reaction to Western policy re: the Middle East over the past 50 to 100 years. Until we stop stomping around over there like we own the place, we’ll still “have to fight the war on terror over there so they don’t fight us over here.” Think about it.

Because nothing has changed, I do not consider these detention policies acceptable.

By: DosPeros

DosPeros — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 22:08:38 +0000

This is obviously not a conventional war with conventional soldiers. I’m not ashamed of my country, however much unease I feel towards the legality or the practicality of our current detainment policies.

It is all certainly easy to rail against on high moral horses commanding the forces and dictating policy from the confines of a non-existent alternative universe where YOU are responsible for the security of millions of people — but it is always nice to know that if the mushroom cloud goes off over L.A., no one will be looking at you saying, why didn’t you do something — you had the SOB in detainment.

Come from the King of Hack Justin — that was just hackilious!

By: Justin Gardner

Justin Gardner — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:59:55 +0000

I’m ashamed my country is allowing the needless indefinite detainment of so many innocent people.

This behavior is, in a word, criminal. I hope the next President shuts these detainment centers and secret prisons down.