Posted on 12/29/2007 10:27:34 AM PST by knighthawk
Yes, you could argue, were you so inclined, that Benazir Bhutto might well be alive today if only Washington had not leaned on her to return to Pakistan for the sake of a U.S.-brokered political deal that was perhaps not in her personal best interest.
More to the point, you could argue that Benazir Bhutto might well be alive today if only Abdullah Mehsud had not been let loose from Guantanamo, where he plainly belonged, regardless of what the bleaters and hand-wringers thought about that.
But, as our Washington man James Gordon Meek today reports, Mehsud convinced somebody in charge down Gitmo way that he was naught but some poor innocent swept up in the fog of war and unjustly jugged. Such a big meanie the U.S. government was for persecuting so harmless a fellow. And so he went free, one of about 450 Gitmo detainees disimprisoned in the past few years.
Whereupon, like at least several dozen other releasees whose post-Gitmo careers have been documented, he went straight back to the battlefields, wreaking righteous jihad upon the infidel. In his case, he reiterated himself as a notorious Talibanesque commander in wild and woolly tribal Waziristan, well known to authorities, running a group that specialized in kidnapping foreign aid workers and blowing up Pakistani soldiers.
Abdullah Mehsud himself was reportedly killed in action a few months back. But his outfit has lived on. Just a week or so ago, it sent out one of its suicide bombers to attack a school bus and maim a bunch of children.
And chief among the late Abdullah's lieutenants has been a kid brother, one Baitullah Mehsud - who yesterday, per transcripts of purportedly intercepted terrorist communications, was identified by Pakistani security forces as the man behind the assault upon Benazir Bhutto's motorcade.
No, it can't be concluded that Madame Bhutto's death warrant was sealed the day Big Brother Abdullah walked out of Guantanamo. Still, events are events. And it is useful to consider the words of Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, speaking recently at a subcommittee hearing into the legal rights of Gitmo detainees:
"A detention regime for terrorists whom we intend to detain until the end of hostilities should seek to weed out mistakes. But it must also be designed in a way that also protects our nation's legitimate interests. ... Releasing committed terrorists has already resulted in the deaths of allied soldiers and innocent civilians. ... The possibility of such result must always be kept in mind."
There are, for the record, about 275 people still under lock and key in Guantanamo.
Most of our detainees are nabbed out of sight of American soldiers by other forces, I think. Americans didn't catch them "in the act".
Innocent men have been kidnapped by corrupt warlords and turned over to the US for bounty. If the US military just shot all bounty captures, it couldn't sort out the innocent from the guilty.
I agree.
>>>I’d rather we take no more prisoners in the gwoj (global war on jihad)
I’m pretty supportive of a global war on liberals ;)
that is receiving prisoners, I was referring to taking them on a battlefield. We are in treaties and conventions that allow for summary execution of non uniformed combatants.
What I was calling nonsense is the article's blaming the U.S. brokered deal for the death of Bhutto.
I disagree. All of them should be let go and escorted to the beach so that they can swim home.
::laughs!::
Very interesting. Anyone sent to Gitmo should be given a one-way ticket. This proves it once again.
“Mehsud convinced somebody in charge down Gitmo way that he was naught but some poor innocent swept up in the fog of war and unjustly jugged.”
However flippant the tone of the author, that point raises a legitimate and serious question - what are the procedures which lead to one being sent to Gitmo? What are the standards in place to prevent the average Afghan or Pakistani from being sent there? Seems rather disturbing that either these are bad guys being released from there or that non terrorists are being sent there only to be released and THEN become nutcases.
The guy has been dead for months -- and somehow it's still his fault?
The killer was already involved in terrorism -- whether or not his brother had been released, this plot would have gone forward. This is a silly editorial.
Hell -- I ate pickled asparagus the day before she was assassinated. It can't be concluded that pickled asparagus sealed her death warrant. Still, events are events....
Gitmo should be a one way trip with no release until Islam surrenders and is purged from the Earth.
The detainees can have their choice, rot forever or die. It’s not like any of them were captured wearing a uniform.
Now, knowing that we and Britain might have prevented it, knowing what a nest of vipers she was going back to which the "brokers" surely knew better than I, and now what it might yet disintegrate into, it has been bothering me. Also finding out that there was probably some substance to the corruption charges bothers me. What a mell of a hess.
I'm sure if given a chance they would attempt to escape. Then, well.....
Yeah, yeah, okay, did he have any underwear placed on his head while in US custody? Because according to the dems that’s the highest level of concern this “war” deserves.
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