Simple Man Politics

I’m back and ready to jump right in today, how about you? Today’s subject is going to be about Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp and its infamous guests. I have had some feedback from people who want me to discuss this topic, so I picked today for it. So let’s not waste anymore time and jump right in…we're burning daylight.

First, a little history on the naval base at Guantanamo because some of it applies to the topic we are going to discuss. Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is the oldest military base outside of the United States and inside a country where we have no diplomatic relationship with the host country. The lease was set up in the wake of the 1898 Spanish-American war, established in the 1903 Cuban-American Treaty, and its terms were modified in the 1934 Treaty of Relations. The current Cuban government considers the US presence there to be illegal, although the current government did cash one of the rent checks from the US after they came to power. The rest of the checks remain in a drawer in Fidel Castro’s office. The US government considers this a validation of the lease which also states that the lease can only be broken by mutual agreement of both governments.

Since 2002 there has been a military prison at the naval base (Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp). There were four detention camps here known as Camp Delta, Camp Echo, Camp Iguana, and the now closed Camp X-Ray. It is here that the enemy combatants (detainees) that have been captured in our war on terror are being held. They are being held here because it is not on US soil, but Cuban soil, and would not result in having to accord them the same rights as US citizens, or to give them the Geneva Convention rights accorded to legal combatants (uniformed soldiers of a recognized government), since they are illegal enemy combatants of a terrorist organization, and to guarantee the safety of American citizens by keeping them out of the United States. This was to be the location where any useful intelligence could be extracted from these individuals to be used in the war on terror. This ability has since been severely damaged by the US Supreme Court in its decision. (BOUMEDIENE ET AL. v BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ET AL)

Both of our Presidential Candidates have very different points of view on the Supreme Courts' decision, although they both agree that the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camps should be closed. For more on their views there is a side by side comparison that you can read to see where they stand on Gitmo, and the detainees.

Now personally I side with the Bush administration on this one. If you’re an Al Qaeda, or Taliban bad guy you don’t deserve the same rights given to US citizens, as well as any of the rights under the Geneva Convention given to uniformed soldiers of a recognized government. As for water boarding, or what ever other method they chose to extract information from these and other members of these terrorist organizations I could care less because their sworn mission in life is to kill as many of us as possible before they meet Allah and get their seventy virgins, and for the record I realize these scumbags don’t speak for the vast majority of Muslims who practice the faith, and have condemned these animals actions. As for the US Supreme Court they should be ashamed for the decision they made and it is evident to me that the next appointee to the US Supreme Court is extremely important so that we don’t suffer any more injustice at their hands. That appointee should be a strict constitutionalist, as well as a conservative.

That is all I have to say for now, and I hope you all have found this very informative, regardless of how you feel about my personal views on this subject. Like I always say, all I can do is give you the facts, but you still have to decide for yourself. That’s just good simple politics for me. Have a great day, and I will see you all on Wednesday, CIAO4NOW!!!!!