Betzee said...

Betzee at 11:50 AM JST - 15th June

It's interesting; redmeat disparages the competence of Canadian troops until he finds a way to point his finger at the real enemy, the American left. Then he refers to the Canadians respectfully as "our allies."

In fact the party that should be held accountable here is the Karzai government (which…

Posted in Hundreds escape from Afghan jail in Taliban breakout at 11:50 AM JST - 15th June
Betzee at 11:40 AM JST - 15th June

Keeping the likes of OBL at Guantanomo Bay

It's all moot since he hasn't been apprehended.

Posted in Hundreds escape from Afghan jail in Taliban breakout at 11:40 AM JST - 15th June
Betzee at 11:00 AM JST - 15th June

It's not difficult to topple repressive, unpopular regimes ruling over non-industrial countries. But it's hard to eradicate their pockets of support which generate armed resistance. Such was the case with the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

In Afghanistan, however, the Taliban has reclaimed control of large swathes of the country despite…

Posted in Hundreds escape from Afghan jail in Taliban breakout at 11:00 AM JST - 15th June
Betzee at 11:39 PM JST - 14th June

Money?

That they get from poppies sales. Every year since the Tailban was toppled the crop, harvested in April, has been bigger. This is how the Taliban staged a resurgence; they control the trade (which was largely banned when they were in power). There's so much heroin on the market…

Posted in Hundreds escape from Afghan jail in Taliban breakout at 11:39 PM JST - 14th June
Betzee at 06:51 AM JST - 14th June

Does John Walker Lindh not count?

Yes, he was captured in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 and repatriated to face trial. Jose Padilla, by contrast, chose to return to the US in 2002 from his home in Jordan (?) and was arrested in O'Hare Airport in Chicago where his family lived.…

Posted in Supreme Court rebukes Bush on rights for Gitmo detainees at 06:51 AM JST - 14th June
Betzee at 10:51 PM JST - 13th June

Interestingly, the British government is now considering extending the period it can hold suspected terrorists without charging them from 28 to 48 days. The most vocal critics are conservatives, includng the former Prime Minister John Major who was the victim of an IRA bombing attempt:

*There is no proof that…

Posted in Supreme Court rebukes Bush on rights for Gitmo detainees at 10:51 PM JST - 13th June
Betzee at 10:07 PM JST - 13th June

The reward system was implemented to put dollar signs in the eyes of villagers living in remote outposts who found leaflets dropped from an airplane informing them they would be compensated for fingering terrorist operatives. But if a villager actually knew of someone with such connections he'd be most unlikely…

Posted in Supreme Court rebukes Bush on rights for Gitmo detainees at 10:07 PM JST - 13th June
Betzee at 09:41 PM JST - 13th June

The ruling, in a nutshell, extends this constitutional right to detainees: "If you are being held, and you demand it, the courts must issue a writ of habeas corpus, which forces those holding you to answer as to why."

Posted in Supreme Court rebukes Bush on rights for Gitmo detainees at 09:41 PM JST - 13th June
Betzee at 09:26 PM JST - 13th June

There's nothing wrong with rewards per se. A few years back where I used to live the police circulated a grainy surveillance video of a shooting inside a convenience store which left a clerk dead, offering a reward for information leading to the identification of the suspect. He was identified…

Posted in Supreme Court rebukes Bush on rights for Gitmo detainees at 09:26 PM JST - 13th June
Betzee at 08:30 PM JST - 13th June

I will bend to say that those who were caught by third parties as Betzee describes to be given a fair trial, but since they are already at Gitmo, why change their residence now? just allow them to have Lawyers who would go there.

I don't think anyone expects Gitmo…

Posted in Supreme Court rebukes Bush on rights for Gitmo detainees at 08:30 PM JST - 13th June