GUEST EDITORIAL – THE VIEWS BELOW MAY NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF POST SCRIPTS, ITS MANAGEMENT OR SPONSORS
by Professor George Mohammed Smyth
People of America this illegal bombing must stop! Every day we are killing innocent people in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. The military calls them armed combatants in war, but in reality these people must be presumed “innocent” until they all have a fair trial. I wonder how can we justify such a moral travesty under the new rules clearly defined by the President?
You wouldn’t want your police to go around shooting “alleged” armed robbers, arsonists, rapists, drug dealers, serial killers, or child kidnappers would you? No, of course not, because they are presumed innocent by law and must abide by that! So again I must ask, why bomb the citizens of Afghanistan? How are they any different than an alleged criminal?
Still having trouble understanding my logic? Then tell me, what is the difference between KSM and his friends, who get a fair trial with all the rights and protections under law and those poor souls being bombed and shot daily by our military in other countries? Explain that one to me! Ha! You can’t can you?
People, the current criminal investigation ongoing in Afghanistan is for our police and courts to handle, it is not a military. But, somehow we’re treating it like its, its…. a war? A war??? We’re dropping bombs and shooting at people without reading them their Miranda rights, without a court hearing or without even allowing them a right to bail!
Thank goodness there is reason to believe change is on the way! The new policies crafted by those in the Justice Dept., (many of them lawyers who formerly represented detainees in Guantanamo when Bush was President) have allowed detainees a right to a criminal trial. Following this great triumph for humanity, we must do the right thing now and put all suspected (terrorists) criminal offenders on trial .
For those of you still not coming to your senses and think its alright to bomb them, let me invoke the name of Eric Holder, our Attorney General. He’s the highest ranking law enforcement officer in the land, and he has established a grand precedence for trying persons formerly called terrorists. This is why we must stop what we are doing, pull the troops out and put policemen in.
Some still call it “terrorism” and that is just wrong too. It has never been terrorism, that is a misnomer and let me tell you why. The Director of Homeland Security has defined terrorism as a “Man Caused Disaster.” The events on 9-11-2001 should be considered merely a “man-caused disaster.”
We don’t drop bombs on people involved in a disaster do we? No. We send aid, not bombs! Did we send bombs to New Orleans when Katrina struck? No! And we shouldn’t be doing that now in Afghanistan either. We can send relief packets, we can send them money, we can even send them tourists, that will all help. But, as fair minded people we can’t send in bombers, because that would be going against everything this president stands for! Where’s fairness for little children? My heart bleeds for them, they need money and more Madrasses schools.
If we send our good will we give the down trodden and oppressed Taliban hope – if we send B-52’s we take away their hope! It’s that simple. The choice is yours, support our President who is giving you hope or continue to deny hope to those less fortunate than you. What shall it be hope or no hope? What would Jesus do? Peace out.