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JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Politics snarls Obama's terrorism policy

Commentary Feb. 13, 2010 - 04:30AM JST ( 3 )

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3 Comments

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SargeFeb. 13, 2010 - 10:12PM JST

"The Obama administration has shwon some ambiguity of its own"

That's the understatement of the week.

"terror suspects"

"henchmen"

What the heck is wrong with some people?
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SargeFeb. 13, 2010 - 10:13PM JST

Yeah, the Obama administration has shown some ambiguity of its own...
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glycol57Feb. 17, 2010 - 07:03AM JST

"Terrorists" - quasi-organized fighters with a political cause operating under no flag - fall between the cracks in the USAs legal system ... and not just the USAs. They aren't exactly "military", but they aren't exactly "criminals" either. Existing law covers one or the other because, up until now, that has been good enough for practical needs. No longer.

There ARE people called "legal theorists" who study law in the abstract and have been helpful in creating a logical, appropriate legal codes. It is time to put these people to work again. These 'offenders of the third kind' need to be more clearly defined and any special treatment needs to be well thought out and consistent and largely agreed-upon between nations.

I think that because the current crop of terrorists are heavily motivated by religious ideals - ideals shared by a significant number of other people - there has been hesitation in making new, terrorist-appropriate laws. The fear is that you'd offend all Moslems.

But 20,30,40 years ago, there were lots of terrorists of an entirely different stripe such as the "Red Brigades" and such. Shining Path is still relevant in south America today. Militant communists, neo-fascists, racists and even some "animal rights" fanatics all do things which qualify them as "terrorists". So, good GENERAL laws against such behavior that cannot be accused of singling out persons of a particular religion or political/class/racial/ethnic tilt ought to be possible to craft. The sooner the better.