THANKS FOR MAKING MY POINT

By Larry Johnson

by
Larry C. Johnson

My friend and colleague Andy Cochran has tossed down the gauntlet (which I presume is a metal glove for smacking folks upside the head). I think Andy shares my view that torture and abuse of unarmed opponents is bad. The abuse in Iraq of these non-combatants by insurgents is evil. However, when we appear to tolerate such behavior as long as we're inflicting it on the "evil doers" we have lowered ourselves to their level. I prefer we construct a policy and approach that stipulates we will not behave as terrorists. We will not abuse unarmed terrorists who may deserve to die.

I propose we take a page from what Israel did with the trial of Adolf Eichmann, the author of the Final Solution. Eichmann sent millions of Jewish men, women and children to gas chambers. He did so without any pretense of a trial or due process. He did it because he could. When Israel seized the opportunity to snatch this beast from Argentina they resisted the urge to summarily execute him. Instead they put him on trial. They documented the facts substantiating his evil acts. But they also set the clear standard of what differentiated the civilized, lawful State of Israel from the jungle of savagery represented by Eichmann and his ilk.

In waging the war on terror we must maintain the moral high road and ensure that we never give our enemies the opening to argue that we are just like them.

TrackBack