Why while in Uzebekistan was I told by locals that the USA is soft on war criminals in Guantanomo Bay?

Question

Uzebekastan, Tajikastan and in the Caspian region, I was told by locals that they laugh at the soft USA for caring for the rights of those trying to kill us....they claim that our outlook on torture of those trying to kill us and that those here who are obsessed with Human Rights makes us look very stupid

Answer 1

I agree. The funny thing is, the "crimes" that were committed towards the prisoners in Gitmo and elswhere were mild in comparison to what goes on everyday in the war zone. I have been to Iraq and witnessed some pretty hardcore (but very effective) methods of interrogation. We are dealing with a foul enemy. It does not break my heart that we must treat these scum like scum to find out what we need to know.

If you are imprisoned for killing or attempting to kill innocent people then it stands to reason to me that you have been imprisoned unjustly. In a "just" situation you would be DEAD before we could get you to a prison where the liberals will make sure that you have more comforts than the soldiers that risk thier lives everyday for our freedom.

I have told many a scumbag that my team and I captured in Iraq that he should be thanking Allah for the Geneva Convention. Personally I wonder why we should be so concerned with following a set of guide lines that our enemy is not even aware of. Of course the countries that would follow these treaties are generally our allies....lol

Answer 2

As a traveler, you have to understand the different views of the locals. Life is harsh from Outer Mongolia to Inner Mongolia, Tyrgystan and Tajikistan and Kazkhstan also feel the same way, and the people react to violence in a different way than the 'civilized west'. As you know many people are semi-nomadic and while good people, they feel that any action that injures or deprives them of their modest belongings requires stern measures. But the brutalities and atrocities of the war that take place do need monitoring. Harsh measures are sometimes needed for interrogation, but the graveyard of Con Son Island of Vietnam is filled with activist students, political prisoners and prisoners and we built the facility for the Vietnamese (Manufactured by RMK-BJR, a subsidiary of Halliburton...Dick Cheney"s buddies). The US continues to criticize China (They have 12 Taiwanese born US citizens working for the CIA under a token house arrest...that's inhumane???) but we are very fast to use harsh measures and ignore Human Rights issues about ourselves.

Answer 3

Don't worry about thier attitudes. Half the men in Guantonomo probably had nothing to do with terrorism and are held in that place for years without charges or knowing the evidence against them. The part that is laughable is that few have been convicted of anything.

Answer 4

You were told right. We have given Geneva Convention rights to those not covered by the Geneva Convention. After giving these prisoners every comfort imaginable, we still have congressmen screeming that they are being mistreated. Yes, these congressmen make us look stupid!