Some correspondence with my senator
Dear Mr. Radulich:
Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns about the treatment and prosecution of terrorist combatants captured in the global war on terror. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.
This war, which is unlike any other conflict our nation has fought before, has presented our country with many unprecedented and difficult choices. In particular, the debate surrounding the proper treatment and prosecution of captured terrorists has focused our attention on the fundamental problem of how to balance our desire to treat all people with proper dignity with our need to prevent future terrorist attacks.
This is a crucial debate. The strength of America depends on the preservation of our values. At its core, our society respects the dignity of every human life. Our nation can never support the use of torture, even when dealing with truly evil enemies. All sides of this debate agree that torture is unacceptable and that basic human rights must be preserved and protected at all levels of our government and military. We also agree that terrorists who are detained in this war should be afforded an appropriate legal process. However, terrorist detainees simply cannot and should not be afforded the same rights and process that our citizens enjoy in our courts.
As you are aware, the United States Supreme Court recently ruled that the procedures used to prosecute terrorist combatants must comply with U.S. statutes and the terms of the Geneva Conventions. As a result of this ruling, Congress has undertaken the task of passing legislation clarifying the procedures under which terrorist combatants are prosecuted and setting clear guidance on the treatment these individuals receive while they are in U.S. custody. By setting clear standards, this legislation will protect U.S. personnel from prosecution for war crimes based on vague and conflicting international interpretations of our military’s requirements under the Geneva Conventions. However, the legislation does not attempt to redefine the terms of the Geneva Conventions.
As we consider these procedures, we must balance two very important American principles: security and liberty. Our country must respect the human dignity of all individuals, but we must also remember that the terrorist combatants that have been captured have been engaged, in varying degrees, in an ongoing, violent and destructive war against the United States—a war in which the terrorists do not differentiate between civilians and military personnel. Therefore, it is important that these combatants are tried in congressionally approved military commissions that afford a fair and reliable prosecution that is consistent with our nation’s character and national security interests. I believe the legislation crafted by the Senate, which has been carefully negotiated between the White House and the Congress, will do that.
Please know that as we continue to debate critical issues in the war on terror, I will keep your concerns in mind. Again, thank you very much for sharing your opinions with me. If you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. In addition, for more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Mel Martinez
United States Senator
My response
In your answer to me you say this is a war like no other conflict before. May I remind you that the German's kill 6 million civilians just to kill them. The Vietnam war was guerrilla war. The Philippines took something like 12 years of guerrilla war to subdue them. The various indian wars this nation has undertaken.
This is not about terrorist, this is about what kind of people we are. Do we no longer believe the words of the Declaration of Independence
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-"
This nation was conceived as a noble experiment. Are we to turn our back on it and say we are no different then the terrorist. Are we to demonstrate to the world that we no longer believe in good, that the only thing we believe in is power. Are we to scream to the world Might makes Right.
I personally am not religious but I keep hearing how we are a Christian nation. Exactly how do you square Christian values with torture?
I would also like to know how you spread Democracy by denying it to the very people you want to adopt it?
Last but not least I would remind you of your oath of office.
" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
Notice it says the constitution, not me, not the government, not the land. In a choice between safety or the constitution, you are bond by your oath to support the constitution.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt - We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
The Republican Party - Fear everything
American Motto - Old - Land of the Free Home of the Brave
New - Land of the spied upon Home of the Chicken
Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns about the treatment and prosecution of terrorist combatants captured in the global war on terror. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.
This war, which is unlike any other conflict our nation has fought before, has presented our country with many unprecedented and difficult choices. In particular, the debate surrounding the proper treatment and prosecution of captured terrorists has focused our attention on the fundamental problem of how to balance our desire to treat all people with proper dignity with our need to prevent future terrorist attacks.
This is a crucial debate. The strength of America depends on the preservation of our values. At its core, our society respects the dignity of every human life. Our nation can never support the use of torture, even when dealing with truly evil enemies. All sides of this debate agree that torture is unacceptable and that basic human rights must be preserved and protected at all levels of our government and military. We also agree that terrorists who are detained in this war should be afforded an appropriate legal process. However, terrorist detainees simply cannot and should not be afforded the same rights and process that our citizens enjoy in our courts.
As you are aware, the United States Supreme Court recently ruled that the procedures used to prosecute terrorist combatants must comply with U.S. statutes and the terms of the Geneva Conventions. As a result of this ruling, Congress has undertaken the task of passing legislation clarifying the procedures under which terrorist combatants are prosecuted and setting clear guidance on the treatment these individuals receive while they are in U.S. custody. By setting clear standards, this legislation will protect U.S. personnel from prosecution for war crimes based on vague and conflicting international interpretations of our military’s requirements under the Geneva Conventions. However, the legislation does not attempt to redefine the terms of the Geneva Conventions.
As we consider these procedures, we must balance two very important American principles: security and liberty. Our country must respect the human dignity of all individuals, but we must also remember that the terrorist combatants that have been captured have been engaged, in varying degrees, in an ongoing, violent and destructive war against the United States—a war in which the terrorists do not differentiate between civilians and military personnel. Therefore, it is important that these combatants are tried in congressionally approved military commissions that afford a fair and reliable prosecution that is consistent with our nation’s character and national security interests. I believe the legislation crafted by the Senate, which has been carefully negotiated between the White House and the Congress, will do that.
Please know that as we continue to debate critical issues in the war on terror, I will keep your concerns in mind. Again, thank you very much for sharing your opinions with me. If you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. In addition, for more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Mel Martinez
United States Senator
My response
In your answer to me you say this is a war like no other conflict before. May I remind you that the German's kill 6 million civilians just to kill them. The Vietnam war was guerrilla war. The Philippines took something like 12 years of guerrilla war to subdue them. The various indian wars this nation has undertaken.
This is not about terrorist, this is about what kind of people we are. Do we no longer believe the words of the Declaration of Independence
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-"
This nation was conceived as a noble experiment. Are we to turn our back on it and say we are no different then the terrorist. Are we to demonstrate to the world that we no longer believe in good, that the only thing we believe in is power. Are we to scream to the world Might makes Right.
I personally am not religious but I keep hearing how we are a Christian nation. Exactly how do you square Christian values with torture?
I would also like to know how you spread Democracy by denying it to the very people you want to adopt it?
Last but not least I would remind you of your oath of office.
" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
Notice it says the constitution, not me, not the government, not the land. In a choice between safety or the constitution, you are bond by your oath to support the constitution.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt - We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
The Republican Party - Fear everything
American Motto - Old - Land of the Free Home of the Brave
New - Land of the spied upon Home of the Chicken
posted by chrisr at 1:46 PM
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