A Tale of Known Terrorists....

I don't know about what people thought in America, but I think the vast majority of Australians did not care about Guantonimo Bay. And it would not have been an issue at all if an Australian had not been in there. The big anti-Bush movement was about Iraq. We all know he went back in Iraq to capture Saddam Hussein in order to avenge his father which had been ridiculed by Saddam. As for terrorists, if it was up to me, I would shot everyone of them in the head without a trial. But as far as I know, the "shoot on sight" applies to any armed dangerous criminal on the run. Not just terrorists.

I didn't have a problem with waterboarding...and Jack Baur was my hero...so I guess I'm not qualified to respond to this discussion.

Nations engaging in torture are rogue states and ought to be outlawed by the international community, those state leaders that instigate such practices as 'water-boarding' should be tried for war-crimes. all the best urban

I spend a lot of time on the white house facebook page (a veritable cesspool of political quackery and filth) and I am sickened by the partisan attitude I see in connection with things like this. The 3 step response chain goes kinda like this 1.)denial 2.)when you give proof - pull the Bush card 3.)when you press for a currently relevant argument - insult you in a foul way and disappear. I don't know that it is exactly worded as a "shoot on sight" thing, but it is still pretty clearly a "we don't care how you do it" kind of thing that still implies that due process is not a concern. I do have a problem with that. Our constitution clearly says our rights are granted to us by our creator. This means they are not granted by any man or government and are not a condition of citizenship to a country. The only way a right can be removed is for a crime committed, through due process of law. The further away we move from that, the less our chances of ever going back become

There is a middle ground on. I dispised many of Bush 43's policy's because I found them un American or lacking in an understanding of the constitution not to mention fiscally irresponsible (going to war without a payment plan as one example) and I thought his general take on business had lost it's way. I also supported some of his policy's. I simply do not understand Americans who cannot get on board with arguing policy's instead of hating one side or the other. I beleive in fiscal responsibility and I frequently see good in progressive ideas that can move us forward as a country. Unfortunately the republican party has lost it's way over the last 30 years and cannot be called conservative. The democrats have leaned so far right that we don't even get to argue about liberal ideas anymore. As to "shoot on sight" I stay well informed and I am sure this would have appeared some where in national and world news. If true, the only place this would be legal would be in a war zone.

The shoot at sight order reminds me of an order given in a country ruled by a martial law dictator. President of a democratic country goes by a tacit rule that everyone is innocent unless he is proven guilty. Even a known terrorist deserves a fair trial. As in India Kasab, the known terrorist is receiving a fair trial though it is a known fact that he had killed many. A fair trial also reveals what made the terrorist to act thus. In absence of a dialogue between the terrorists and any government this is the only way. We must seek to remedy the cause and not just the affect. If our hair and nails grow we do not pull them off but clip them neatly from time to time. Terrorists too are created out of some flaw in our political and social system, to which we do not have a known solution. Let us not forget that one country's patriot is another country's terrorist. By killing them we simply make a martyr out of them and thus earn another country's ire and enmity. I expect Obama not to commit the same mistake his predecessors had committed. I expect him to act in a more rational manner than Bush. Bush was driven by a desire for revenge and self aggrandizement. Maybe through his action he was able to earn few votes, but he left more people hating him for what he did.

You know, I thought the new standard of justice for terrorists was trial in a civilian court, by a jury that can be manipulated. According to obama, true justice is being found guilty of 1 out of 280 charges, after without a doubt having a part in the murder of 242 people. This is the liberal obama courts in action.