They were not POW's but enemy combatants-no rules!

[napi21]

I just heard this on MSNBC.

The rules from the Geneva Convention apply to the interrogation of POW's, but Rumsfeld designated those prisoners as enemy combatants, and we can do anything we want with them.

Sorry I didn't pay attention to who the lady was that they were interviewing. I was too shocked at what I heard!

In my opion, this does 2 things.

1. Ties Rumsfeld directly to the abuse decisions.
2. Confirms this was not an abberation or "a few renegade soldiers", but intentional and more widespread than this "isolated incident".

[rocktivity]

1. How many of those prisoners were actually insurgents

how many were suspected insurgents, how many are there on other charges, and how many were simply there because they couldn't make bail? And what are the legal grounds on which to designate someone as an enemy combatant? You're right, though, Napi--I think Rummy has just outsmarted himself!

:headbang:
rocknation

[Karenina]

11. VERY FEW.

MOST are civilians rounded up off the streets.

[jimshoes]

2. We (murica) are nothing but a bunch of gangsters

answerable to no one. Who thinks the November vote is going to make a bit of difference to this lot?

[Renew Deal]

6. I was thinking along the same lines.

There are no rules for us.

[Bandit]

3. Anyone can be called an Enemy Combatant and never heard from again

This is at the heart of what is so terribly wrong with this administration. They have set themselves up as all powerful without allowing constitutional guarantees to American citizens solely on the word of one man. For this one abuse of the American Ideal they should be tarred and feathered or at least serve some time. They are Criminals and traitors to America.

[napi21]

4. Was this designation "enemy combatant" coined by

this admin. or was it used in the past? I don't remember it, but I'm no fan of paying attention to stuff like that.

[LittleApple81]

7. Bush* coined it. That is why I am saying he is a lot guiltier than

the soldiers. He provided the environment for this outrage to flourish. But I suggested this on another thread and people here in DU thought that you cannot trace it back to him.

[progressivejazz]

5. If that's the administration position

then they've made a big mistake, which will lead to their downfall.

If Rummy says this, he's toast. And if W supports him, he's toast, too.

The American people have seen these photographs and the right-wing spin machine hasn't been able to change their minds that what was done should not have been done by Americans. And it won't be able to. The decision of the American people has already been made. Trying to justify this with legal niceties would be the biggest mistake W and his gang of thugs could make. I hope they try it.

You're absolutely right. It ties Rummy to the decisions and shows that it was policy. A policy that has not been and will not be accepted by the electorate.

[tom_paine]

8. The Lying Liars are getting pretty odious now

One wonders how the Imperial Pravda doesn't collapse under the sheer wieght of the deceptions they help their Bushevik Masters disseminate.

Well, I guess if it didn't collapse in the Old Soviet Union for 70+ years, we might have a very long wait indeed.

[robbedvoter]

9. Rummy said this yesterday on TV - bungled it quite a bit

"the geneva rules do not apply, but we should act as if they were ("Don't feed the animals", "Don't rattle the cage")

[Kinkistyle]

10. Those at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo are "Enemy Combatants"

Not just Talibani or Arabs but all sorts of nationalities and people. No third parties are allowed in, and people who try to pass on info about whats going on in there (like the Muslim Army Chaplain Yee, who was initially charged with treason, then dropped to "looking at porn", down to nothing) are charged with treason.

So what can only imagine whats being going on in that concentration camp. It must be just as bad, if not worse that Abu Ghraib. They've had since just after 9/11 to really try out different things.

[napi21]

12. Wonder if all this publicity will have an effect on the SCOTUS

decisions regarding the 2 prisoner cases before them right now?