Karbala and the Geneva Convention
I’m waiting…waiting breathlessly…for the outrage that will never materialize from the mainstream media and the Democratic Party (I repeat myself) who spent the last two years excoriating the manner in which the Bush Administration treats enemy detainees at Guantanamo.
I’m referring to this story just in from Iraq. As reported by DEBKA, Nine to 12 insurgent gunmen masquerading as American troops, speaking English, carrying US weapons and driving American-type military vehicles, captured four US soldiers and took them from the governor’s compound in the Shiite city alive. First they killed a US soldier. Three of the four were later found shot dead and one mortally wounded 25 miles away from the governor’s office.
Students of military history, does this remind you of anything?
During the epic World War II Battle of the Bulge, German soldiers, who spoke perfect English, dressed in American uniforms and infiltrated our front lines, wreaking havoc on our Command and Control structure and lines of Communication.
For all those who have been squealing about affording Islamofacist terrorists rights under the Geneva Convention, pay attention to this: when captured, the German soldiers were given a last cigarette, blindfolded, tied to a post and shot.
There were no howls of protest from Congress nor the International Red Cross; there were no asinine decisions promulgated by any of our Federal District Courts.
Why?
It’s simple. The rights afforded to combatants under the Geneva Convention were always intended to apply to uniformed soldiers of the warring nation-states. Those were the rules — understood by all.
Those who broke the rules, understood as well, the consequences for their breach: execution without redress. By violating the established norms of civilized warfare, they took themselves outside the bounds of protection granted to those combatants who played by the rules.
This treachery on the part of the terrorists in Iraq is the latest example of the futility of attempting to rigorously apply civilized standards of conduct upon our troops, while at the same time excusing the barbaric behavior of the enemy.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for journalists to ask a few simple questions starting with this one: doesn’t this incident demonstrate a double standard at play?
David Gregory, where are you when we need you? Our nation calls.
Beacon Street Journal
Saturday, January 27, 2007
By John Kinsellagh