Were Democrats Wrong About Guantanamo?

[Zoot Soup]

It looks like a good bit of intel that led up to the bin Laden kill was mined in the prison on at Guantanamo. I'll freely admit I was an opponent (and still might be), but was I, along with other liberal-ish folks, wrong about its benefits?

[Zoot Soup]

Geeze. I know how to spell. Can someone help me out with the thread title?

[2 Humped Camel]

Gitmo is just a place, it was what was done there that makes closing it good policy imo. It is just fuel for those that hate us already to point to and say look they torture and detain people as they try to recruit new terrorist. Had the illegal detentions and interogation methods not been used there would be no need to close it IMO. I do find it interesting that the terrorist who gave up the name of the courier was waterboarded but didn't give up the name until months later under traditional legal interogation methods. I still think it needs to be closed for what it has become to represent.

[Bluto]

Yes.

[75center]

I think the main line of information coming out is that enhanced interrogation techniques were not used, at least to get the code name of the trusted courrier. If you believe that then there is no reason to change your mind on the subject.

[Habib]

I haven't had time to read much into it but there appears to be a debate about whether the information gathered came from torture or interrogation. It appears that at least Khalid Sheik Muhammad lied about it under torture.

 

At any rate, I've opposed Guantanamo and torture for much the same reason I would oppose having the government listen in on whichever phone calls it wants. We would gather more intelligence if the government did this, but the cost is not worth it. Similarly, we don't treat these people as humans simply because they aren't Americans (and the prison is off American soil). I don't think that's worth it either.

[westsider]

Those that are opposed to "enhanced interrogation techniques" are so because of what they represent, a loss of our moral authority. This country was built on freedom and the respect of individual rights, values that are even employed in the implementation of our criminal justice system. We're supposed to be the country that doesn't torture its "enemy combatants" ... when we do, we've started to put ourselves in the same category as those we oppose.

 

To many people, Guantanamo Bay is that place where our moral authority begins to erode.

[jericho]

stuff like gitmo, our military knows more than any President about how to handle this stuff. a Senator didnt do any interogating, military did. congress gets no credit, our military does for all of the hard work.

[Clyde]

stuff like gitmo, our military knows more than any President about how to handle this stuff. a Senator didnt do any interogating, military did. congress gets no credit, our military does for all of the hard work.

 

Is it the military doing the interrogations or is it the CIA?

[cammando]

The Dems were wrong about a lot of things Bush did to combat terrorism... They fought him on every front.. Thank God security advisers were able to convince Obama that they were needed tools to keep our country safe..

[Hatz]

Those that are opposed to "enhanced interrogation techniques" are so because of what they represent, a loss of our moral authority. This country was built on freedom and the respect of individual rights, values that are even employed in the implementation of our criminal justice system. We're supposed to be the country that doesn't torture its "enemy combatants" ... when we do, we've started to put ourselves in the same category as those we oppose.

 

To many people, Guantanamo Bay is that place where our moral authority begins to erode.

 

Pretty much sums it up for me.

[PurplePride92]

I am a Democrat.

 

Were the Democrats wrong? Maybe. My belief is that if there wasn't a Gitmo there would be somewhere else where we house the criminals. Or we'd just kill them. I have a hard time believing that without Gitmo we still wouldn't be pursuing intelligence through captured terrorists regardless of the White House press release saying otherwise.

 

I am not opposed to torture and don't care how it makes us look. War is war to me. You get caught then you pay the price. War is not pretty or fun and for me personally all bets are really off when you start killing innocent people.

[westsider]

The Dems were wrong about a lot of things Bush did to combat terrorism... They fought him on every front.. Thank God security advisers were able to convince Obama that they were needed tools to keep our country safe..

Fought him on every front? The "Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists" (which was used to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan) passed almost unanimously. The issues that did get challenged were the Patriot Act and the invasion of Iraq.

[MJAlltheWay24]

I am not opposed to torture and don't care how it makes us look. War is war to me. You get caught then you pay the price. War is not pretty or fun and for me personally all bets are really off when you start killing innocent people.

 

Might not be politically correct, but I'm with you.

[Clyde]

Rumsfeld and Sen Graham said no waterboarding or enhanced techniques were used.

 

FWIW