What is happening to our constitution?

reply to post by lokdog


Lokdog, I was just mentioning a certain circumstance that occurred recently that disgraced our constitution.

Originally posted by lokdog
reply to post by AQuestion

 

I get all that, what I dont understand is how OBL was supposed to be protected by our constitution. That is what I gathered was the main premise of the op's thread.

That helps me to understand what you are asking. It's not really about bin Laden, it is about us. The Geneva Convention and the rules that our military operate under are to make sure that we don't go back to how wars had been fought in the past. It is a strange concept; but, was considered an advancement. War is a horrible thing and many atrocities occur, these rules are an attempt to limit the atrocities, to conduct it in a more dispassionate and business like manner.

I am sorry but I am not sure I can explain this well right now. People in the intelligence field actually respected one another, they saw each other as professionals protecting their countries. The same was true for military professionals, officers were expected to not allow rape, torture, stealing and looting. This approach was aimed at not having eternal wars. Consider how we were able to work the Japanese after World War II, they respected the fact that we did not treat them the way they treated the people they conquered.

I do not believe that we can ever win over the moderates in the arab world if we are not a better example of how things can be. We cannot condemn torture when we exercise it ourselves, instead it justifies our oponents using the same techniques. Why do certain arab muslims hate us? It is because of how we control their countries and flood their media with our version of what is right. This is a cultural war not a religious one. It may not appear that way; but, in the end that is what it is. We want them to become more like us and they don't like our influence in their countries. They wish the west to be more like them and we don't want their laws in the west.

People say that the arab muslims can never be won over; but, they were, they were beginning to "modernize" or "westernize". We saw Egypt negotiate with Israel, we saw Iran become more moderate and other countries. Now they are turning backwards, the Shah of Iran was kicked out and radical muslims took over. I think I have done a terrible job of answering and I apologize for not having explained myself better. In the end, whether or not we follow our own rules will determine whether or not we will ever be an example of why democracy and moderation are better.