if terrorists don't follow the geneva convention; why should we honor it on their behalf?

Question

troops out of uniform used to be shot when captured. why not shoot those who claim no country?

Answer 1

The Geneva Convention was convened and was to covered uniformed soldiers of warring armies. It was not intended to nor does it cover plain clothes terrorists. If a soldier was captured out of uniform, the convention allows him to be shot as a spy.
We MOST certainly should NOT apply the Geneva Convention to terrorists.

Answer 2

I do feel that the U.S. should take the moral high ground and follow the rules, ala Geneva Convention.

However, since the Geneva Convention applies to uniformed soldiers, and not non-uniformed combatants that claim no country, and try to blend in with the population, I feel that they should know that they have to pay a price for that approach. The price is that they will not be protected by the Geneva Convention.

Answer 3

If your a christian why do you obey the ten commandments when all around you don't?If you and your country like to be considered civilized you have to act civilized even when confronted by barbarism? Sorry, either commit war crimes or don't but remember you can't call yourselves a christian civilized country if you do or cry foul when crimes are committed on your men in the field. You don't refrain from torture, firing on the Red Cross and other violations for the sake of your enemies but for your sake. When you are pushed to the wall and all is almost lost then it is war to the knife and the knife to the hilt. Survival maybe a excuse for barbarism but not frustration that things aren't turning out the way you want. You can't figure out what a bunch of kids are doing or going to do with what is supposed to be the best intelligence agencies in the world so torture someone. The fact that you can't be sure that the person you torture knows what your want to know or that he will not die before he breaks. Why do we assume that the al Qaeda fanatic is not as stalwart in his refusal to speak as Jack Armstrong, All American Boy. Even if they speak under torture what they say is usually unusable and maybe simply what they think you want to hear.
As for shooting people, well, shooting people who are shooting you is hard enough for most people, shooting people for have given up brings on it's own little psychosis. People who so blithely call for torture and out of hand killings really have no idea of what they are talking about or what consequences come of such behaviour

Answer 4

Islamic radicals are the current largest group of 'terrorists' in the world. They are bent on installing their Caliphate (Sunni Muslim) or Sultanate (Shiite Muslim) in South West Asia first and later the world. They dream about this aloud. They are without a single leader or country. They are not signatories to the Geneva Convention and should not be protected by its terms. If the US and its allies ever decide to get entirely serious about the threat they pose then all stops need to be removed in this fight.

Answer 5

The Geneva Convention didn't envision what's happening now.
We should rise above even that, and show the World we're forward thinking and fair people and have only everybody's best interests as our first concern.
We can incorporate Convention-like rules into our own behavior and accommodate the world as it is.
It's a brave new world.
Not a place for chicken-hawks who can't even lead their own party, let alone the World.

Answer 6

Because I would hope that we are not terrorists and not uncivilized monsters.

Further, the military is against it, as failing to live up to decency in the treatment of captives goes against us - the military specifically cites the case that it had been usual for combatants to prefer surrender to US forces owing to the civilized treatment they knew they could expect, but when they expect torture and degrading conditions, they fight on or try to slip away to fight another day instead.

And further, vicious, vindictive, uncivilized treatment of others very justifiably brings contempt upon us as a nation and as a people.

And if you think it is wrong and nasty for terrorists to behave the way they do, why do you want to behave in the same wrong and nasty way?

Answer 7

See, our whole argument here is that we are BETTER (as in fairer) than the terrorist insurgents we are fighting in Iraq. Being more fair means following the rules.

Besides, we have more than enough fire power to blow the nation of Iraq into the 99th century. Why are we slapping when we can beat the sh!t out of them? Because we have too many politicians fighting this war, and not enough military running it. Tell Bush to stick to what he knows (which isn't much, I know; but it will give him a lot of free time).

Answer 8

Because the Geneva Conventions apply to nations, not random pockets of terrorism. Also, you have to show the world you can rise above barbarism. Seems many are just itching to torture ,as if it's second nature!

Answer 9

are you serious? If we take a stance like that it makes us no better than them. We have our honor to hold us up, but if we give that away than what do we have? THAT is what sets us apart from them. We are better. WE don't commit the atrocities that THEY do and that makes us better. But what if we do the same things they do? How are we better?

It's like saying, "well this guy killed my kid so I'm gonna go kill his kid." Does that make sense? Does it make it right? NO it makes you no better than him. Murder is murder right? And torture is torture. We have to maintain our dignity and honor our founding fathers and our place in the world as AMERICANS. That means a code of honor that is higher than others.

Answer 10

Because the Democrats care so much about the terrorists and their rights.

They should be afforded no rights whatsoever. They traded them in at the same time they traded their souls to the devil.