ReaganSauce

written by Katherine Kuhn

Dear President Obama,

Reading the news this week was very troublesome.  Seeing that we apparently still think that the use of landmines is acceptable, it really doesn’t seem far fetched that we would charge our own service members with assault of an alleged terrorist.

That’s right; Navy SEALs who were doing their duty by carrying out a mission to capture Ahmed Hashim Abed have now been charged with assault.  Allegedly, they gave him a bloody lip after detaining him.  If it were me, that’s not all I would have given him.

Some background information: Ahmed Hashim Abed is the supposed mastermind behind the capture and brutal mutilation of four Blackwater USA guards in 2004.  So, it is interesting to hear the men who should be praised for executing their mission are now facing a court martial to determine if they did anything wrong.

Why should a man whose country is not a member of the Geneva Convention have the courtesy of being able to file assault charges on his captors?  A man who did not show mercy when his victims were slaughtered should have all the rights of an American citizen?  I think not.

I concede that these Navy SEALs are charged with other things than assault, like making false official statements etc., however they shouldn’t have been charged in the first place.  

I think that this country has become too soft with regards to prisoners of war.  We are not fighting a “gentleman’s war” here.  We are fighting a war with radicals who believe that slaughtering military personnel and civilians alike is appropriate.  We have forgotten than they will show no mercy—yet seemingly beg for it when they are captured.

What I ask of you is to not allow a case like this go to court.  It is ridiculous that instead of being hailed as heroes these soldiers are being charged with assault.  They risked life and limb to make the mission a success and all we can do is spit in their faces.  I truly hope this war doesn’t end up like another Vietnam where we have no respect for the soldiers when they return home.

Within the same vein, it’s also flat out wrong to be giving the 9/11 terrorists who helped plan and train the hijackers any sort of civilian trial.  They don’t have money to pay restitution and I’m going to go out on a limb and say they would be the last people to do community service (not that any amount of money or community service will make up for what they’ve done).  

In reality, why are we really giving these men trials?  I understand due process and all of that however, these men are not random American citizens, they are radicals who are out to harm anything they believe is not in sync with what they believe.  It seems like a rather radical idea, but these men are POWs and don’t deserve the luxury of having the same rights that all Americans have.

Would I execute the aforementioned people?  Probably not-- that’s what they want.  They want us to execute them so they appear to be martyrs.  Personally, I would put them in solitary confinement for the rest of their lives with no communication to the outside world.  They wouldn’t give us the courtesy of ethical treatment as POWs anyway.

I don’t think that it is fair to allow POWs the same courtesy of natural rights when they clearly have violated other people’s natural rights.  When did it become standard operational procedure to forget that these men have been in battle and there will be an occasional fat lip or two.  

What’s next?  Are we going to allow US soldiers to file assault charges on those people the fight against?  Because according to the current model, apparently we should.  If Abed can file charges soldiers should be allowed to as well.  This act of “justice” that we are showing Abed isn’t going to change any terrorist’s mind if that is the rationale behind this.  It’s not going to make them want to kill innocent people any less.  They aren’t going to stop and say, “Hey remember when the US was so nice and they allowed Abed to file assault charges?  Yeah maybe we should stop using our brutal tactics.”  Ha, I am sure that is exactly what they will stop and ponder.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  I also hope that you see the irony in the fact that alleged terrorists will want mercy when they won’t show it to their victims.  

Don’t allow the terrorists to win—on the battlefield or in our courtrooms.

Sincerely,

Kate