Geraint Rees wrote:
>
> On 12/20/01 3:30 PM, "Mike Lorrey" <mlorrey@datamann.com> wrote:
>
> > Because they do not wear a uniform, they try to
> > blend into the law abiding muslim population, they make all muslims
> > legitimate targets under the Geneva Conventions. We are demonstrating
> > incredibly remarkable sensitivity and restraint in the small number of
> > the mumlim community we have detained.
>
> I don't agree with this statement. Would you also apply this logic to US
> domestic terrorism - such as the current anthrax outrage, or the horrific
> Oklahoma bombing? Timothy McVeigh presumably blended into the law abiding
> white male population; but no-one would suggest that consequently all white
> males are 'legitimate targets', surely? So what is it about this specific
> terrorist act that makes you support this type of action; is it just the
> horrific scale of the fatalities, or something else?
The Geneva Conventions do not treat domestic insurgencies of a country
by its own citizens (although there is a bit of fuzziness if those
citizens are being funded and supported by a foreign power) as something
covered by the Conventions. They are there to govern conflicts between
nations, not within them. Civil conflict within a country was apparently
regarded as an 'internal matter' that does not fall under the perview of
international law.
For this reason, the 9-11 attacks are covered under the Conventions, but
domestic terrorism like McVeigh's acts are not. As we know, the 9-11
acts were committed by non-citizens who had infiltrated our country from
abroad, given orders by state sponsored groups in other countries, and
given financial support and training by the same groups. For this
reason, the events of 9-11 are acts of war, while McVeigh's actions were
acts of civil rebellion. They are no less severe, but because of the
circumstances, they are treated differently in a legal setting.
However, despite that, if you ask the FBI, the primary profile for a
domestic terrorist today is a lone white male, and if you follow the
agenda of the liberals here, the white male is certainly the enemy.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat May 11 2002 - 17:44:29 MDT