Posted on 12/07/2010 12:20:30 PM PST by Winged Hussar
“That’s good but would be hilarious if they included a jug of vinegar to quench their thirst.”
James Bond would have given them a can of oil per Quantum of Solace.
Re: “It worries me when there are so many on FR that are willing to chunk the rule of law and adopt vigilante justice when they don’t like the results. “
If captured on U.S. soil, the Constitution entitles them to due process of law no matter what they have done.
The problem is that the Kumbaya-singers want our Armed Forces to act like police officers or even social workers in the mountains of Afghanistan, i.e. not on U.S. soil. This is why so many of our service members come home in flag-covered coffins.
There was in fact a time under the Articles of War when a ship captain who captured pirates red-handed could hold a court martial on his ship, followed by a hanging if the verdict was guilty.
Israel meanwhile released an individual named Samir Kuntar (as part of a political deal) after he was found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of bashing in a four year old girl’s head with a rock. This is a very strong argument for applying Rule 303 when terrorists are caught red-handed.
From what I have read of Breaker Morant, what he did was not much different than what U.S. troops did with German soldiers they caught in American uniforms, and the U.S. troops did not get into any trouble for it. My understanding of the laws of war is that any combatant who wages war while dressed as a civilian can in fact be executed as a spy. The Lieber Code (commissioned by Abraham Lincoln to regulate the Civil War) defined anybody who dressed as a civilian to wage war as a “war traitor” who was subject to execution.
Under these standards, just about every Hamas terrorist who is caught on Israeli soil could be executed merely for entering Israel while dressed as a civilian. Any Al Qaida member our troops catch dressed as a civilian can similarly be executed, or at least should be.
I am going to be very interested to see how the Indian Navy handles the pirates who captured that Bangladeshi freighter off their coast yesterday.
There has to be some major red faces in New Delhi today — and not because of the curry!
Then we’re going to have disagree.
The “rule of law” is a means to an end and is failing to serve that end. Further, there is no indication that it will be turned to meet that end; quite the opposite, in fact.
That means other methods have to be used achieve the necessary ends. As far as I’m concerned, in this particular instance, the Russkis “done good.”
So you think the democratic process is fundamentally flawed and incapable of correcting the law?
Never had much faith in “democracy” aka “mob rule.”
Neither did Federal government until FDR decided he needed that sort of thing in 1930s.
The franchise needs to be limited, at the very least, to net taxpayers.
Alternately, the powers of the government and its wealth need to be limited so that most folks simply don’t care.
Of course neither course is very likely. The government will stay obscenely wealthy and dangerously powerful; the lame, lazy, weak, stupid, perverted and criminal will continue to be able to vote.
Ah, you legalistic quibblers.
It’s the law of the sea, eons old, any intruders may be dealt with in the most expeditious way possible.
What is the established legal process?
The West, US, and NATO and EU have arbitrarily decided that pirates will be extraditied to Kenya, Europe or the US for trial.
Why bother?
Pirates are the sea version of ununiformed combatants.
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