When Cheney told West Point grads that Muslim killers don't abide by the Geneva Conventions did he mean?

Question

the young officers shouldn't either? ...

"Capture one of these killers, and he'll be quick to demand the protections of the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States. Yet when they wage attacks or take captives, their delicate sensibilities seem to fall away. These are men who glorify murder and suicide. Their cruelty is not rebuked by human suffering, only fed by it."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070526-1.html

Answer 1

It was his not so veiled assertion that torture is now an established part of Military etiquette

Answer 2

Once again a small little fact gets lost. The Geneva Conventions are a TREATY among nations. To appeal for the protections of that treaty by aggressors that never signed onto it should be legally laughable, but unfortunatley isn't.
Due to a ruling by the liberal side of the Supreme Court, the same terrorists are covered not only by the Geneva Conventions, but also by U.S. Constitutional law. Don't ask me to explain the painfully convoluted reasoning the liberals on the Court used.
The dissenting Justices were: Rheinquist (sp), O'Conner, Scalia, and Thomas.
Funny how nobody seems to mind when liberals step on the constitution ain't it.

Answer 3

I think the point is here, is you have people fighting out of uniform, endangering civilians, targetting them, abducting people, beheading them.

The point is is that the Geneva conventions were made to protect SOLDIERS, not terrorists. Soldiers, (at least in the west) have a chain of command, set of guidelines coming from the top, and have missions that dont involve targetting civilians. A soldier is part of a military designed to destroy the opposing military to usher surrender until the other side has had enough.

The Geneva conventions were designed to protect prisoners of war, not criminals. If my son were in a war fighting for his country in good concious, then he doesnt deserve to be tortured or executed by anyone and neither does anyone elses sons and daughters. Those are just brutal tactics used by people that are no better than criminals and they deserve whatever they get from both mankind and God.

Answer 4

He means that if you look at the requirements of the Geneva Convention and then look at reports of how the terrorists treat prisoners you will see that they do not follow them.

Whether you like it or not the Geneva Convention does not apply to terrorists. It only applies to soldiers captured in uniform fighting for a regulated army or militia. The Convention was established in part prevent soldiers from discussing themselves as civilians. Terrorists break all the rules.

Does that me we should treat them cruelly? Of course not. Look at the prisoners at Gitmo, for all the media coverage they are still treated much better than they would treat any one they captured.

Answer 5

He was just reminding them of the people we are dealing with and what kind of people they are going to face when they go into combat.

If you are so concern about the Geneva Convention why don't you raise that question about Muslim terrorists.

Answer 6

The rules of engagement...

See Gitmo.

Answer 7

Silly you, of course he did.

The guy who McCain had to talk down from the torture ledge?

I'd love to see what's in Cheney's cellar...

Answer 8

I don't think he meant that at all. Just because they don't abide by it doesn't mean that we shouldn't. That is what seperates us from them.

Answer 9

No. He's just demonstrating what craven cowards these jihadists are.