Greenwald: Where’s The ‘Sympathy’ For Gitmo Detainees?
Journalist Glenn Greenwald questioned on Twitter why there is so much “sympathy” for Bowe Bergdahl but not for Gitmo detainees “kept in a cage for a decade w/ no charges.”
It’s fascinating how there’s so much sympathy for a US POW, but so little for GITMO detainees kept in a cage for a decade w/no charges.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 4, 2014
Click here for reuse options!Greenwald’s point is that because the U.S. kept the detainees locked up for years without bringing any charges against them, how can we know that they are the evil-minded terrorists that everyone is making them out to be. This notion did not go over particularly well with the Twitter crowd and Greenwald spent some time rebutting the criticism he received:
Copyright 2014 Liberaland
6 responses to Greenwald: Where’s The ‘Sympathy’ For Gitmo Detainees?
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Tom Ward June 5th, 2014 at 13:47
Well maybe the twitter crowd should ask themselves if we have a moral obligation or not to grant foreign citizens the same protections granted to US citizens by the constitution. If we do, then maybe US citizens would be more sympathetic to Snowden’s revelations of US spying on foreign citizens. I see how you think, Greenwald.
EstebanCafe June 5th, 2014 at 15:35
Sir, two thoughts:
1. If you grant the same constitutional protections to foreign nationals as US citizens, what then is the difference ? “We are the world” is a great song, but terrible policy. You Americans are great at sharing your resources but poor at tying them to performance.
2. Greenwald makes an excellent point…to expand upon it: how do you know that Gitmo has not become a holding cell Black Site for foreign nationals put there by their governments ? POW status is addressed by the Geneva Convention; these poor souls are classified not as POW’s, but as “Enemy Combatants” and therefore have no GC protections. In some ways, they simply do not exist.
Luckily, it’s not like your government would drone strike one of its citizens without due process, so these guys are likely safe.
sarc/off
Tom Ward June 5th, 2014 at 13:47
Well maybe the twitter crowd should ask themselves if we have a moral obligation or not to grant foreign citizens the same protections granted to US citizens by the constitution. If we do, then maybe US citizens would be more sympathetic to Snowden’s revelations of US spying on foreign citizens. I see how you think, Greenwald.
EstebanCafe June 5th, 2014 at 15:35
Sir, two thoughts:
1. If you grant the same constitutional protections to foreign nationals as US citizens, what then is the difference ? “We are the world” is a great song, but terrible policy. You Americans are great at sharing your resources but poor at tying them to performance.
2. Greenwald makes an excellent point…to expand upon it: how do you know that Gitmo has not become a holding cell Black Site for foreign nationals put there by their governments ? POW status is addressed by the Geneva Convention; these poor souls are classified not as POW’s, but as “Enemy Combatants” and therefore have no GC protections. In some ways, they simply do not exist.
Luckily, it’s not like your government would drone strike one of its citizens without due process, so these guys are likely safe.
sarc/off
Rixar13 McGinnis June 5th, 2014 at 17:39
Tell Republican nut jobs to try them in a U.S. Court or send them on an island somewhere other than Gitmo.
Rixar13 McGinnis June 5th, 2014 at 17:39
Tell Republican nut jobs to try them in a U.S. Court or send them on an island somewhere other than Gitmo.