‘CIA interrogation methods made America and its allies safer’ Former CIA director contends
11 Dec 2014 3 Comments
in war and peace Tags: interrogation techniques, war on terror
The renegade Left and the laws of war
11 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in International law, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Leftover Left, prisoners of war, renegade Left, Renegade liberals, war criminals, war on terror
The renegade Left is highly selective in its recall of international humanitarian law. On torture, perfect recall, strict construction and may the heavens fall. William Levi in the Yale Law Journal in 2009 argued that
- except for water-boarding, every interrogation technique authorized by the Bush Administration had been authorized before 9/11 and considered to fall within the legal constraints of the Geneva Conventions.
- Techniques such as sleep deprivation, and standing as a stress position that were understood at times before 9/11 to be lawful for use on prisoners of war.
When it comes to the reason for being for international humanitarian law, a stout ignorance infects the renegade Left and may innocent civilians be massacred.
The purpose of international humanitarian law is to ensure strict differentiation between civilians and combatants and to provide for the detention and treatment of those captured.
Humane detention to the end of the armed conflict increases both the incentive to give quarter and to surrender when the position is hopeless.
The requirement to carry weapons openly, dress in some sort of uniform etc. is to ensure that the enemy is easy to distinguish from afar so that troops do not get trigger happy around civilians and refugees. This is the fundamental purpose of international humanitarian law: trying to save civilians from the fighting.
The most severe punishments was allowed for spies, saboteurs, infiltrators, francs-tireurs and guerrillas so that not carrying their weapons openly and not dressing in some sort of recognisable uniform etc., was a self-inflected death sentence upon capture. Combatants who do not wear a uniform that is clearly distinguishable at the distance and do not carry their weapons openly are war criminals.
In the Battle of the Bulge, the Nazi infiltrators in American uniforms lost all interest in their missions once the first few who were captured were court-martialled and shot within 24 hours.
The Hostages Trial at Nuremburg dismissed some murder charges against some German commanders because partisan fighters in Southwest Europe could not be considered lawful belligerents under Article 1 of the 1907 Hague convention. The Tribunal stated:
We are obliged to hold that such guerrillas were francs tireurs who, upon capture, could be subjected to the death penalty.
Consequently, no criminal responsibility attaches to the defendant List because of the execution of captured partisans…
Americans Have Grown More Supportive Of Torture | FiveThirtyEight
10 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, laws of war, liberalism, war and peace Tags: interrogation techniques, terrorism, torture, war on terror
Former Head Of CIA ‘Enhanced Interrogation’ Program Defends Its Use | Business Insider
10 Dec 2014 1 Comment
in laws of war, war and peace Tags: terrorism, war against terror
Writing in The Washington Post, Rodriguez justified the enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA through three points:
1) The program was built against the backdrop of the September 11 terrorist attacks and other security threats;
2) The program effectively produced actionable intelligence that saved American lives;
3) The program was judged legal by the Justice Department.
via Former Head Of CIA ‘Enhanced Interrogation’ Program Defends Its Use | Business Insider.
Let’s not kid ourselves: Most Americans are fine with torture, even when you call it “torture” – The Washington Post
10 Dec 2014 1 Comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, laws of war, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: interrogation techniques, torture, tourism, war on terror
Useful idiots for Palestine–Pat Condell
09 Dec 2014 2 Comments
in politics, war and peace Tags: Israel, Palestine, Pat Condell, useful idiots, Zionism
A soldier’s goodbye to his family
09 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941
07 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
Afghanistan, 1960
07 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in liberalism, war and peace Tags: Afghanistan, The Age of Enlightenment
Jihad for Dummies buyers get 12 years
07 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, war and peace Tags: economics of oppositional identities, Jihad, terrorism, war on terror
Sweden has offered permanent residence to all Syrians fleeing the conflict
06 Dec 2014 1 Comment
in Economics of international refugee law, war and peace Tags: refugees, Sweden, Syria
Asylum applications to Sweden
2012: 44,000
2013: 55,000
2014: 83,000 (projected)
2015: 95,000 (projected)
The population of Sweden is about twice that New Zealand and a million more. The population of Syria is almost 23,000,000.
Nearly half of Syria’s population has been displaced since the start of the civil war in 2011. Half. It’s the equivalent of 135 million Americans being forced to move.
I admire Sweden’s generosity, but not their wisdom. Three million Syrians have become refugees abroad and 6.5 million more have fled their homes for other locations within the country.
Four Distinct Foreign-Policy Orientations
03 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in International law, liberalism, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: non-interventionist foreign policy
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Four Distinct Foreign-Policy Orientations |
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| Internationalist: Willing to intervene in foreign affairs | Isolationist: Reluctant to intervene in foreign affairs | |
| Emphasis on the national interest as primary value in foreign policy | National-interest interventionism | National-interest isolationism |
| Significant emphasis on altruism in foreign policy | Altruistic interventionism | Altruistic isolationism |
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Source: Reichley 2000. |
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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