A gift to our enemies

Carol Platt Liebau:

...

But the political benefit to the Democrats is dwarfed by the boon the McCain/Graham/Warner approach bestows on America’s enemies. By offering terrorists the same status as that accorded uniformed military warriors, the legislation favored by the trio only rewards warfare that glorifies the deliberate killing of innocents and undermines a distinction between terrorist and soldier that should be cherished by all civilized people.

What’s more, the senators’ expressed concern for the opinion of “the world” bespeaks a remarkable naivete about nature of global opinion. What will win the world’s respect is defeating the terrorists as decisively as America conquered the Axis powers in World War II. Those across the world who are predisposed to dislike and distrust America are hardly going to change their minds based on pandering legislative efforts to win their approval. In fact, the war-crimes lawsuits to which the legislation favored by Senators McCain, Graham and Warner exposes American interrogators will only provide a valuable propaganda tool for those intent on sullying the reputation of the United States. Not one American life should be put at risk in a fruitless effort to curry the favor of European intellectuals.

...

There is so much wrong with what McCain et.al. are doing on this, but it all started with a really bad Supreme Court decision, possibly one of the worse ever, when it comes to matters of national security where the consitution gives the court no role what so ever. Giving Geneva rights to those who violate the terms of the accord is not only a gift to the wicked, it endangers civilians everywhere. We are dealing with people who deliberately target non combatants and who camouflage theselves as civilians. When you hear about civilian casualties as a result of US forces, it is because the enemy has made every civilian a suspected terrorist.