Far be it from me to defend George Bush or Kai Shek. Also, it is ironic to note that "Communist" China is probably the only country in the world heading in a rightward direction, towards capitalism and freedom. If these were Bush's goals, holding up Taiwan as an example is counterproductive at best.
As for Gitmo, I used to be really big on the torture there, worrying and so on. I've lately found it hard to condemn it once someone pointed out to me that, compared to the rest of the prisons on that island - or for that matter, standard living on the rest of the island - the prison at Guantanamo Bay might as well be a five-star resort.
hah, well if that's my only mistake in there then i'm batting a <1% error rate for words used correctly.
I think the conditions of Gitmo can't be compared to the rest of the island. America claims to be humanitarian and arguably, the Cuban living conditions can also be attributed to lack of resources, which is not a problem for us. It all comes down to the one word Bush used: savagery. If we're trying to put a stop to it, the most effective place to start would be on the home front.
As for Cuban conditions, I don't think this is a discussion that will lead anywhere. In any case, I agree that torture and other forms of savagery are a bad idea in just about any case, but I still think we're far more humanitarian than just about any other country on the planet. Then again, this might be a valedictorian of summer school type thing.
You heard that Saudi Arabia wants any Saudis that are found to be part of Al Qaeda or in the Iraqi resistance that are captured alive to be turned over to the Saudi government? I wonder if these guys, given a choice, would rather end up at Gitmo.
I have a suspicion that either 1: the saudis might secretly support these guys
2: the saudis or someone in the saudi gov't gets special treatment from other government officials for producing information that can't be produced elsewhere. For example, perhaps a pentagon official would see to it that more military oil comes from saudi arabia in exchange for hard-gotten info.
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As for Gitmo, I used to be really big on the torture there, worrying and so on. I've lately found it hard to condemn it once someone pointed out to me that, compared to the rest of the prisons on that island - or for that matter, standard living on the rest of the island - the prison at Guantanamo Bay might as well be a five-star resort.
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But learn to use its correctly, please. You're too smart to make such a simple mistake.
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I think the conditions of Gitmo can't be compared to the rest of the island. America claims to be humanitarian and arguably, the Cuban living conditions can also be attributed to lack of resources, which is not a problem for us. It all comes down to the one word Bush used: savagery. If we're trying to put a stop to it, the most effective place to start would be on the home front.
Reply
As for Cuban conditions, I don't think this is a discussion that will lead anywhere. In any case, I agree that torture and other forms of savagery are a bad idea in just about any case, but I still think we're far more humanitarian than just about any other country on the planet. Then again, this might be a valedictorian of summer school type thing.
You heard that Saudi Arabia wants any Saudis that are found to be part of Al Qaeda or in the Iraqi resistance that are captured alive to be turned over to the Saudi government? I wonder if these guys, given a choice, would rather end up at Gitmo.
Reply
2: the saudis or someone in the saudi gov't gets special treatment from other government officials for producing information that can't be produced elsewhere. For example, perhaps a pentagon official would see to it that more military oil comes from saudi arabia in exchange for hard-gotten info.
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